MEET some of the 200 young recruits who have been signed up to keep Glasgow booming.

MEET some of the 200 young recruits who have been signed up to keep Glasgow booming.

They are taking their first steps into work thanks to a pioneering scheme run by Glasgow City Council.

And today they met council leader Steven Purcell to celebrate their new start in life - and the part they will play in the continuing regeneration of the city.

They are the latest to be taken on by the council and City Building as apprentices.

The 60 apprentices for the council will work in a range of jobs, including horticulture, roadwork, business administration, youth work, information technology and cultural heritage.

The 140 City Building trainees will complete apprenticeships in traditional trades such as plumbers, joiners, bricklayers and electricians.

The programme offers high quality training for those aged 16 and over.

Mr Purcell said: "This is another step to get more people into work and offer them an apprenticeship.

"The more skilled trades people we have in the city, the easier it is to attract more investment and jobs. This is a win-win situation for Glasgow and everyone who lives here."

With £4.5billion of construction work under way or planned in the city, the apprenticeship scheme should leave Glasgow well prepared for the future.

Mr Purcell added: "We have an opportunity over the next few years, particularly with the Commonwealth Games coming, to secure apprenticeships for many more school leavers."

He said the 2014 Games would bring significant physical regeneration, increase tourism, job creation, and private and socially rented accommodation. The Athletes' Village, to be built in Dalmarnock, would be used for housing after the event.

Mr Purcell added: "Through opportunities like the apprenticeship places, we will give our young people the same start in life, the same opportunity our fathers and grandfathers received, when the shipyards, the steelworks, the pits and the mills were at their height and employing hundreds of thousands of people."

The Evening Times told in July of City Building's plans to hire 140 apprentices - double what it usually recruits in a year. It received 1400 applications for the posts.

The council has been running Skillseeker and modern apprenticeship schemes since 1996.

Courses run for 18 months to four years, with Skillseekers offered an SVQ Level 2 qualification and modern apprentices offered an SVQ Level 3.

About 95% of those completing the programme go on to find permanent jobs, many with the council.

Earlier this year, Mr Purcell announced every city school leaver in 2009 who qualified for an apprenticeship would be offered one as part of a £30million plan to prepare the city for the 2014 Games.

JOINER FRANZ HAIDER, a 16-year-old from the East End, is starting a four-year joinery apprenticeship with City Building. He left St Ambrose School, Coatbridge, at the end of fifth year and had always been interested in joinery, especially craft and design. Franz applied for an apprenticeship with City Building and successfully got through the three-stage interview process, which included a practical skills test. He is delighted to have been awarded an apprenticeship and is impressed at the opportunities within City Building. "I have tried my best and feel really happy I have been successful," said Franz. "I am looking forward to a career in carpentry and joinery and to working on site. I can't wait to work in houses, to give a good impression of myself and to do a good job for City Building."	GARDNER GREEN-FINGERED Bianca Caldwell has landed her dream job in the Botanic Gardens. The 18-year-old, who attended Whitehill Secondary School in Dennistoun, started on a city council vocational programme in September 2006, where she got involved in horticultural training. She was also given support in numeracy, literacy and interview skills. That helped build her confidence and resulted in her winning a place on a council training programme the following year. Bianca impressed course bosses and has now landed a three-year horticultural apprenticeship. She said: "I love working in horticulture and have always wanted to get involved in this field. "The apprenticeship will give me the chance to learn skills in a wide range of different areas such as nursery work, aquatic features and arboriculture."	YOUTH WORKER JODIE MURPHY had just started working towards a Skillseekers SVQ in youth work when she was told of the death of her cousin. The former St Roch's secondary pupil admits the tragedy hit her hard and she feared she would not complete the course which was part of another council-run scheme. But thanks to the support she got from staff she reached her goal and is now an apprentice youth worker. Jodie, 19, from Royston, said: "I know now that sometimes we need support. "My goal is to become a qualified youth worker and without the support I was given I might not have completed my course and missed the chance to progress on to a modern apprenticeship. "I enjoy working with young people - I know from personal experience that the kind of support youth workers provide can have a real, positive impact on people's lives. "There are some vulnerable young people and this apprenticeship has given me the chance to progress into a career that will allow me to make a difference."