Apprenticeships in England are being taken up by an increasing number of teenagers.
In the last 12 months there has been a 15% increase in the number of 16 and 17-year-olds getting apprenticeships straight from school.
According to the Department for Education, almost 50,000 teenagers went into a work-based training course in the 12 months to March 2014.
In the previous year there had been fewer than 42,000.
Apprenticeships offer on-the-job training with a salary. Many view this as a preferable and more secure way to enter the job market than attending university and attracting debt.
Most apprenticeships are in business, administration and law with work in jobs such as accountancy and banking. Other popular areas include health and care, retail, engineering and construction.
The largest proportion of teenage apprentices was in Hull where the rate was 9.6%, followed by Sunderland with 9.4%, Cumbria 8.9% and Bournemouth 7.9%.
