A Trowbridge opticians is on the lookout for two new apprentices, as National Apprenticeship Week runs across the county.

The Specsavers store in The Shires has taken on six young apprentices since 2012, with five of them going on to full-time roles in the company, and it now has space for two more.

Store director Stephen Auty said: “They come in on the apprentice route as a full-timer, so it’s a proving ground for them to show they want to be at work.

“It’s quite a steep learning curve for them because most of them have never worn glasses, or even been in an opticians before.

“They are people who might not have excelled at school, but it doesn’t mean they haven’t got what it takes to be great members of staff.”

The store currently has four retail apprentices on a 12-month programme, and one lab technician apprentice, 17-year-old Zane Moss.

Mr Auty said: “One of them is about to start an 18-month foundation degree in audiology to become a registered audiologist. At the end of it if we can’t find a position here we offer them to other stores and they have been biting our hands off, so there is a guaranteed job at the end of it.

“Apprenticeships offer the ideal balance between study and developing practical skills and we’ve been really impressed with how they’ve all applied themselves.

“We’ve got two more apprentices joining the team this year and it’s a scheme we will continue to support.”

National Apprenticeship Week ran all this week, to promote apprenticeships across the country. For details, see www.apprenticeships.org.uk.