An accountancy academy has opened in Warrington following a partnership between national education and training specialist Learning Curve Group (LCG) and professional services company Optionis.
LCG has invested £250,000 into the Accounting Apprenticeship Academy, which is based within Optionis' Centre Park Square headquarters in Warrington.
Thirty students aged between 16 and 18 years old have started the one-year apprenticeship, which mixes academic teaching provided by LCG's education team with work experience in Optionis' offices alongside mentors.
Warrington South Conservative MP David Mowat cut the ribbon on the academy.
Brenda McLeish, chief executive of Learning Curve Group, said: "The academy brings together expertise in training that will give young people every opportunity to learn important work skills that will last a lifetime.
"Its opening reflects the value of companies working in partnership to meet local training and employment demand, and I'm delighted that the response to it from school-leavers in the Warrington area has been so positive.
"Thirty apprentices have started their training, but they will be just the first of many who will benefit from the academy's superb training and facilities in the years ahead.
"I am grateful to David Mowat for supporting the academy, which I'm confident will bring tremendous benefits to young people in his constituency."
Derek Kelly, founder and group managing director at Optionis, said: "It's great to officially launch the Optionis academy and we're already seeing fantastic results.
"Our apprentices are gaining valuable experience that they otherwise might not have been able to achieve. It's already clear that these young people are well on their way to becoming accounting stars of the future and I'm excited to see how each of them will progress throughout their careers."