THE Mayor of Bolton is urging the town’s business leaders to take on more apprentices.

Cllr Martin Donaghy was speaking at the quarterly business breakfast hosted by Bolton Lads and Girls Club in Spa Road.

The Ulster-born Labour councillor set a target of one extra apprentice per week for his entire mayoral year, and is hoping by the time he steps down next May, there will be 52 more young people in work who would otherwise have been jobless.

“I put apprentices at the very core of my mayoral year because I was an apprentice,” said 57-year-old Cllr Donaghy. “I left Northern Ireland in 1974 as a result of religious disc-rimination which prevent-ed me from finding work.”

He said he was told to come to Bolton as it had a reputation for being the place to be for engineering.

“I came here and got fixed up and became a turner and fitter, working for many years until 2002 in the mechanical engineering trade, “ he said.

“Because of the diminution of manufact-uring industry within the town, I had a change of career work at Sainsbury’s – quite a change from the machine shop.”

Cllr Donaghy said he believed there was no such thing as an inherently bad young person.

He said: “I believe we all need a chance.

“I was given a chance – that step up, a helping hand into an apprenticeship.

“It is important for all young people to get the chance to get skills and prove their worth to their employer and to put a bit of brass in their pocket, which also increases their self esteem.

"So I throw out a friendly challenge to all employers. If they could take one extra apprentice, it would be such a boost, not only to them, but to the Bolton family.”

Cllr Donaghy said he intended to continue going out to see employers on an individual basis and he hailed the current apprenticeship system, which allows people to be taken on in all sectors, not just engineering, and beyond the age of 18.

He added: “You can take an apprenticeship in anything, from legal, to building to secretarial, which is wonderful.”