A SELFLESS apprentice and a generous firm have ensured the future of apprenticeships at an East Lancs firm are in good hands.

Niall Mottershaw, who is on the books at Calico, was named a runner-up in the Construction Industry Training Board's national apprentice of the year stakes.

And the 21-year-old, who had already been selected as the CITB's north-west apprentice of the year, impressed judges with what he did when he received his first pay packets.

Niall, a Level 2 site carpentry, handed them over to his family as his father had recently found himself out of work. His bosses had also asked him to mentor a fellow apprentice, with ADHD, with a poor timekeeping record and work ethic.

A spokesman at one of his placements Galliford Try, said: "We asked Niall to mentor him on site. He worked hard with him and set an outstanding example for him to follow. He spent a lot of time supporting him in developing his skills and the change that we saw ... was fantastic."

Meanwhile the Calico Group's ' Constructing the Future' programme has been boosted by a £15,000 gift from Lovell, part of the Morgan Sindall Group.

The funding has been generated by their own apprentice levy and will help the Burnley company to create two new apprentice positions.

Rachel Donovan, Calico spokesman, said: "It's an incredibly generous donation that we’re delighted to receive. This money has directly allowed us to create further opportunities for young people who may not have got the chance to experience the world of work without it."