The 2014 National Apprenticeship and Skills Week promises to be the biggest and best event of its kind yet, as it aims to allow skilled tradesmen and trainees to network and share their experiences and ideas.

Co-ordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service, next year’s event is set to run from 3 to 7 March and is designed to celebrate the positives of learning a skill and the impact becoming a trainee or apprentice can have on both individuals and businesses.

The 2014 event will mark the seventh year that the event has run, and everyone training across sectors ranging from electrical work to plumbing is being encouraged to get involved in more than 1,000 events and activities taking place across the UK.

Amongst the events planned for the 2014 week includes three key initiatives to help employers and hopeful trainees across the UK.

A new online toolkit, aimed at supporting local training organisations, employers and educational institutions, will give details about setting up traineeships, sourcing applicants for them, and detailing the benefits for businesses. The second of the initiatives is a series of communications workshops held across the UK during December and January which will help partners to promote their individual initiatives during the 2014 event.

The third new initiative is the new official National Apprenticeship and Skills Week 2014 T-shirt, which has just been unveiled. Designed by 20-year-old apprentice, Rebecca Timson, the t-shirt details a tree with several branches, each branch standing for the various sectors and career options there are available across the country to trainees and skilled workers retraining in new sectors.

Divisional area director for the National Apprenticeship Service in the North, Sue Price, told the Blackpool Gazette: “To be counting down to the 2014 event is really exciting and I look forward to being part of an even more exciting week with more partners supporting the Week.

“I am particularly keen to see examples of the great work that is created ... The week is a fantastic opportunity to ... show how skilled workers help employers grow their own talent and provide a great opportunity for people to earn while they learn,” Mr Price went on to say.