BOOSTING apprentice numbers could help the food and drink manufacturing sector generate £10 billion in turnover for the Yorkshire and Humberside economy within a decade.

That is the claim of Jack Matthews, chief executive of the York-based food and drink sector skills council Improve, who today welcomed this week's unveiling by Prime Minister Gordon Brown of a raft of measures aimed at increasing the number of young people taking apprenticeships in England by 90,000 over the next five years.

Mr Matthews said: "This is great news for the food and drink manufacturing sector. We have argued for a long time that apprenticeships are key to plugging skills gaps and driving growth - the ambition is to see turnover increase by a third over ten years.

"We have said all along that putting employers at the heart of apprenticeships is the key to guaranteeing success.

"Initiatives announced on Monday, such as offering subsidies to smaller businesses to take on apprentices and opening the door for businesses to have their own in-house training accredited as part of the scheme, will help strengthen employers' trust in apprenticeships.

"In the food and drink manufacturing industry, apprentice numbers had fallen away to near insignificance six or seven years ago, but after implementing changes in response to employers' needs, numbers are very much on the up again. We are now forecasting a five-fold increase in numbers by 2012."