Housing company South Tyneside Homes has offered practical career advice to young people keen on entering the construction industry.

The company took two of its apprentices to local Hebburn Comprehensive School to highlight the various options available to youngsters keen on embarking on construction careers.

Electrician apprentice Drew Adamson, 20, and plumbing apprentice 17-year-old Joe Hockings took time out to advise year nine students about how to go about applying for an apprenticeship with South Tyneside Homes' Property Services Team.

The students were given crucial advice about the kind of qualifications they will need in order to apply for an apprenticeship with the services team, which is primarily responsible for maintaining and improving more than 18,000 council homes in the borough, as well as delivering parts of the Decent Homes Programme.

During the workshop, students were also told about the different career paths available and were given the opportunity to work on an electrical socket, as well as try their hand at some pipework.

The workshop formed part of a wider event launched by Made in South Tyneside - an education initiative that is delivered by the South Tyneside Manufacturing Forum.

The main aim of the scheme is to get young people approaching the end of compulsory education to think about their options and start to decide whether they want to continue with traditional GCSE and A Level options or pursue more vocational subjects.

Mark Whittle, director of investment at South Tyneside Homes, said: "We are extremely proud of our award-winning apprenticeship programme and over the last six years we have trained 80 young people in the different trade areas.

"We are committed to trying to recruit our future apprentices from within South Tyneside and the event at Hebburn Comprehensive School gave us the opportunity to promote the fantastic career prospects and training we can offer to the workforce of tomorrow."