A LOCAL employer has hit back at claims that there are no apprenticeships in the Forest.

Last week we reported on the plight of teenager Zak Darby who said he had contacted at least 30 companies but no apprenticeships were available.

But Paul Angel, of Lydney-based Devlin Builders, said young people should apply to companies outside of their own specialism.

He said: "We are a general builders but we have had nobody contact us about apprenticeships.

"Schools do not seem interested in pushing people towards the building industry but you can make a good career with general builders.

"When I started out I went through the Yellow Pages and wrote to every company in there in the hope that somebody would take me on.

"These days you just have to cut and paste on the computer.

"We couldn't take on somebody as just a plumber but with a general builder you get to learn a wide range of skills."