Several regional daily newspapers have launched campaigns to find 100 apprenticeships in 100 days in order to help tackle the problem of youth unemployment.
The idea appears to have originated with a joint campaign by the Gloucestershire Echo and The Citizen in March this year.
It proved to be an overwhelming success, registering 123 apprenticeships by July, and prompting the papers (published by Northcliffe Media) to launch a second campaign.
The idea was then taken up by Northcliffe's Bristol title, the Evening Post, which launched its campaign in June and then managed to achieve its target within hours.
The response encouraged the paper to redefine its ambition, setting itself the challenge of persuading 100 businesses to take on apprentices.
In the following weeks and months, the Post continued to plug away at its campaign until it achieved its target in early September.
The paper succeeded in getting 103 companies to offer apprenticeships, providing more than 150 young people with the prospect of a bright future.
The Post's success encouraged other papers to have a go. The Grimsby Telegraph (also Northcliffe) launched its campaign in late September. It is still up and running.
The News in Portsmouth (Johnston Press) also launched a similar campaign in September. After 50 days it had 87 places pledged and it reported yesterday on its latest recruit.
Last month, the Ipswich Evening Star (Archant) announced its campaign to find 100 new jobs in the city and soon reported backing from business leaders.
I guess other papers may have done something similar. Anyway, the campaigns have certainly proved their worth. So hats off to the Citizen and the Echo for setting the agenda.
