Since the earliest days of Portakabin, we have recognised that our investment in people is one of the most important that we make. From the incredible contribution of the apprentices who have grown and developed with us, to our innovative training schemes, as well as our involvement in education - our commitment to the generations to come is evident.

Alongside our current training schemes, we are now taking our business straight to the students and the schools. With our inclusion in the prestigious Times 100 publication, we are able to share our business expertise and ethos with students across the UK as part of the curriculum.

Why do we do this? Simple, today's students are tomorrow's decision makers, tomorrow's leaders ...and our success will pass into their hands. If we take the time to ensure relevant educational information that will engage today's student, is delivered professionally - then we have the tools and practice in place to make the future even better than today.

The Times 100 is a resource, in print and online, for students taking Business Studies courses. Published annually, it provides the means for students to examine real business issues from successful organisations like Portakabin and allows them to put the theory of Business Studies, into an engaging, real life context. Our case studies form part of the core of the resource, providing a real-life example of Portakabin practices that directly relate to curriculum topics.

A printed copy of The Times 100 is provided free of charge to all UK schools, colleges and universities, so students have access to a wealth of helpful information designed to make learning a pleasure. With revision quizzes, topical news alerts, background information and a glossary of business terms, the resource is popular with both students and teachers.

The popular television programme ‘The Apprentice' became a hotly contested competition between Simon Ambrose and Kristina Grimes as it reached its final round. This article from the York Press examines and contrasts TV's apprentices with our own outstanding Portakabin apprentices, Chris Colbeck and David Taylor.

Original article about Portakabin Apprentices Chris Colbeck and David Taylor available online.

As former public schoolboy Simon Ambrose prepares to "work his cotton socks off" for Sir Alan Sugar, STEPHEN LEWIS talks to some real-life apprentices in York. Meanwhile, Charlotte Percival catches up with Simon's North Yorkshire rival, Kristina Grimes.

SIR ALAN Sugar would like Chris Colbeck. He may not just have offered the 17-year-old apprentice electrician a £100,000-a-year job.

But if he ever met him, chances are he'd recognise in Chris some of the qualities that made him say: "You're hired!" to Simon Ambrose.

Like Simon, Chris is articulate, well-spoken and ambitious. And like Simon, he is willing to learn.

The 17-year-old can see some of the parallels with Simon himself. "Simon is the unfinished article," Chris, who is halfway through a four-year apprenticeship at Portakabin in York, says. "And that's how I see myself."

A big fan of the TV show, Chris believes Sir Alan was right to choose Simon over fellow finalist Kristina Grimes.

He liked Kristina - especially the way she got one over on Katie by refusing to stoop to her level - but felt she was too much the finished product for Sir Alan.

What would be the point of calling the show The Apprentice if an apprentice wasn't what Sir Alan was looking for?

Steve Overton, of Portakabin, is also looking for the right apprentice

As a Portakabin apprentice, Chris earns about £8,000 a year. Not £100,000 then? "Maybe one day!" he says.

But while it may not pay as well, in its way, a Portakabin apprenticeship is almost as much sought-after as a place on the TV show.

The company recently advertised for five apprentices in The Press - joiners, electricians and plumbers - and already there have been 362 applicants for the posts.

"That's to date!" says Portakabin human resources manager Phil Marsland.

Chris's favourite character on The Apprentice was Tre. "He seemed always to have lots of good ideas, and he was a good laugh and a good character," Chris says. He was also ambitious, a trait Chris shares.

His ultimate ambition, after finishing his apprenticeship, is to go into business for himself. "I'd like to own my own electricians' company," he says.

"It would be nice to have my own business, be my own boss."

He glances around him at the inside of the modular children's nursery room he's working on. "But this is the perfect training."

As an apprentice, Chris spends one day a week and the occasional block course at York College.

The rest of the time he spends working alongside experienced electricians at the Portakabin factory off New Lane, in Huntington, York.

In his two years with the company, he has worked on everything from schools and offices to hospitals and mini-supermarkets - all modular, all assembled here in York before being shipped out across the country.

He much prefers hands-on learning to being stuck in a classroom, Chris, from Market Weighton, says.

"Most of my friends are now going on to university. My sister is at university at the moment. But I see lots of people going to university and not getting a really good job at the end of it," he says.

Instead of earning £8,000 a year while they learn, they leave university with huge debts, he points out.

But the clincher is that he simply doesn't like being stuck in a classroom. "I have always preferred learning by working."

Most of his workmates are quite a bit older than him: the youngest are in their 20s and even 30s.

But he likes that. They supervise his work, and show him how to do things better. "If it was somebody about your own age trying to do that, you wouldn't listen the same."

Like Chris, David Taylor is another real-life apprentice who prefers learning the hands-on way to sitting in a classroom.

The 19-year-old is getting towards the end of his four-year apprenticeship as a joiner at Portakabin - following in his father's footsteps before him When we arrive, he is working on a desk top that will eventually form part of a nurses' station in a hospital.

He is lovingly rounding off the edges of the desk with a cabinet scraper, before sanding them smooth.

"I'm trying to get a smooth edge," he says, looking up from his work.

Like Chris, he enjoys his job. "I like using my hands," he says. "And I get real satisfaction out of finishing something.

"If you've done a good job, you feel pleased."

And, like Chris, he believes he has learned a huge amount from his four-year apprenticeship.

All his work at Portakabin is monitored and supervised by experienced joiners.

"They give you ideas of how to do things," he says. "They show you three or four different ways that people use.

"They are always willing to help me, making sure I'm okay, making sure I'm safe. They're a good bunch of lads."

With his apprenticeship nearly up, David hopes to continue working at Portakabin while attending York College one day a week to upgrade his qualifications, before possibly going on to university.

So will he be invited to stay on? Will it be a case of "David: you're hired?" or "David: you're fired?" when his four years as an apprentice come to an end?

Portakabin production manager Steve Overton grins.

"If he's here now, he's going to be here in the future," he says.

In other words, David has proved the hard way, through four years of doing the job, that he's got what it takes.

Boosting work skills

Human resources bosses at Portakabin may not be quite as fierce as Sir Alan Sugar.

But they are looking for the same qualities in their apprentices as the business tycoon.

And these qualities are?

A certain aptitude for their chosen profession, says HR manager Phil Marsland, plus a good attitude, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.

Enthusiasm is one of the keys, adds production manager Steve Overton. "It is a long process, being an apprentice," he says. "Three to four years. So they need lots of enthusiasm."

Portakabin prides itself on the apprentices it trains. At the moment, the company has 13 in training, and five more posts have recently been advertised.

It has been training apprentices - electricians, plumbers, joiners and the like - for all of the 31 years Steve has worked there.

Not all of them go on to work full-time at Portakabin - though of the 200 tradesmen working at the York site, 50 came through the company's apprenticeships, Steve says.

Those that don't stay with the company go on to work with other local firms - or set up in business for themselves.

There has been a lot in the national and trade press about the falling number of opportunities for apprentices, says Phil Marsland.

So Portakabin is proud of its role in training future plumbers, electricians and joiners to add to the skills pool locally.