Workshops are planned for the Pen yr Orsedd quarry

Plans are afoot to convert a disused slate quarry in the Nantlle Valley in Gwynedd into training units to help out-of-work youngsters gain a trade.

Local company, Tirwedd, has identified the Pen-yr-Orsedd quarry in Nantlle as the ideal location for its project.

It hopes to offer apprenticeships for trainees eager to become engineers, electricians, welders, tool-makers, fitters and blacksmiths.

The company says around 20 places would be available initially but it is hoped to expand the numbers as the project develops.

Once you have mastered a craft then you'll get pleasure from the work Former carpenter Les Jones

It is hoped the move would also address the UK-wide shortage of skilled workers.

Les Jones from Tirwedd, a Gwynedd councillor and a former carpenter, said it was an excellent opportunity.

"For too long what has happened in this area is that young people have been in work for six months and then on the dole for six months," he said.

Set-up businesses

"That kind of existence offers no future so we are trying to move away from that with this scheme.

"Once you have mastered a craft then you'll get pleasure from the work and you'll always have it," he said.

It is planned to expand the project to include business units for trainees so that they can set up on their own on the site when they have completed their apprenticeship.

Slate from Nantlle quarries was exported all over the world

Cllr Jones believes that training alongside an experience craftsman is an invaluable opportunity which has not been widely available in recent years.

"I'm not knocking the colleges because they do an excellent job but I can't see how that kind of training can compare to an old-fashioned apprenticeship," he said.

"When you are training on the job you come across various snags and that is when you learn.

"You need to sort out the problem by thinking it through yourself.

"What tends to happen in the colleges is that the situation is perfect and that is not going to be the case when you are doing the job for real," he said.

Another benefit of the project is that the history of the old quarries will be preserved.

Many of the old machines dating back to the 19th century will be on display to the public.

The next step for Tirwedd says Cllr Jones is to get the project off the ground by securing the lease for the site from owner.