Barry Modern Apprentice catering supervisor Charlotte Black is gathering all the ingredients she needs to create a successful career for herself in the booming hosptality industry.

Charlotte, aged 19, of Odyns Fee, Rhoose, studied English, Maths and Physics A-levels at Barry College then opted to sign up for a Modern Appreticeship instead of taking th traditional route of university.

Charlotte, who works at the Highwayman Inn, Nurston, near Barry, said "University wasn't really for me. I wanted to start working to be earning money and also to be learning at the same time. The Modern Apprentice route suited me just right. I'm now on the way to gaining a supervisory qualification which will put me on the first rung of the management ladder. My employer spotted the potential I had for a supervisory role and suggested that I follow the Modern Apprenticeship route. I am now looking to see how far I can go."

Charlotte is making such a success of her apprenticeship that she is being used as a role model to attract others to follow her lead.

She is at the vanguard of a drive to discover Wales' highest achieving Modern Apprentices, to be honoured later in the year at ELWa's prestigous Modern Apprenticeship Awards - Wales 2005.

The awards evening will be staged at City Hall, Cardiff on Thursday, October 13.

Charlotte, who attended Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, is completing her apprenticeship with training provider south-wales based Qualtech, which delivers training programmes to 120 Modern Apprenticeship candidates each year.

ELWa Chairman Sheila Drury said: " Modern Apprenticeships are playing a crucial role in helping equip business in Wales with the skills needed to create a world-class workforce.The take-up of Modern Apprenticeships and Foundation Modern Apprenticeships is a significant achievement for ELWa, Careers Wales and also the providers."

Qualtech director, Wendy Quan, said: "Charlotte's progress has been exceptional. Charlotte has expressed an interest in becoming a manager should she continue to be as keen to develop her knowledge, skills and experience as she is as present, I would fully expect her to achieve her goal. Modern Apprenticeships are an excellent tool to support a company's training plans as candidates undertake most of the training on-the-job thus they are rarely out of the workplace."

This year there are four Modern Apprenticeship of the year award categories. These are:

• Learner Award
• Learning Provider Award
• Partnership Award
• Employer Award