by David Jones

A skills expert is urging swift government action on the recruitment of apprentices to avoid a shortfall of 24,000 young people.

Experts predict that the process industries - which employ around 61,000 people across the region - will need a huge number of apprentices to fill the gap left by older workers set to retire in the next decade.

The call has come from Derek Willison-Parry, vice-president, operational excellence, global manufacturing and supply at pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline. He also sits on the main board of the National Skills Academy Process Industries, which is part of a UK-wide network of employer-led academies set up to address skills issues in crucial sectors in the face of the recession.

The academy works alongside chemicals, polymers and pharmaceutical employers, helping them strengthen staff training and development programmes and create world class workforces.

Mr Willison-Parry is holding up two schemes being run by the Scottish Government, which he says are examples of how the problem could be tackled. Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond recently announced a "two for the price of one" scheme for life science employers, pledging that the government would meet the full salary costs of the second apprentice. Scottish employers also benefit from a new "adopt an apprentice" scheme, which sees them being paid £2000 to recruit a redundant apprentice.

Regional Skills Manager for the South East and London, Lucy Milton, said: "There are more than 11,000 employers in the process industries - employing 17 per cent of the national industry workforce here in the South East. Many of them are struggling to maintain apprenticeship levels through the current economic climate.

"We simply cannot afford to let these young people disappear into other industries, or worse still, leave the labour market entirely because their employers can no longer afford to run or complete their apprenticeship programmes.

"Other sectors such as construction and automotive have already received government assistance, and the creation of the National Apprentice Service is a step in the right direction.

"We have been lobbying hard on behalf of our members in the chemicals, polymers and pharmaceutical sectors, which play a key role in the region's economy. We now need some action, and we need it fast if this significant economic sector is to make its full contribution to the eventual upturn."

• The process industries produce hundreds of essentials for our daily lives from biofuels and plastics, through to rubber and synthetic fibres for clothing.