The past 18 months has seen a boom in apprentice numbers, with the next intake expected to see numbers soar to almost 170.

General manager human resources Alan Tidswell said offering such a high number of apprenticeships is fantastic news not only for the steelworks but the entire community.

"The continued growth of this program encourages our youth to stay here in Whyalla whilst at the same time providing a new career opportunity for mature age people," he said.

"This is excellent for maintaining and increasing the local population, which in turn creates a significant boost for Whyalla's economy."

OneSteel is currently recruiting its fourth intake of apprentices across four disciplines - electrical, fitting and turning, instrumentation and boilermaking.

The next intake of 25 will see OneSteel's apprentice numbers climb to an impressive 165. This includes seven school-based apprentices with the Australian Technical College (ATC) that have secured employment with OneSteel.

TAFE lecturer Ian Hunt completed a boilermaking apprenticeship with BHP in the mid 1980s.

Having lectured at TAFE for 17 years, he has experienced numerous periods when student numbers were in decline.

"Those days are long gone and now the workshops are a sea of orange and booming again," he said.

"It's great for locals to be able to find work in Whyalla, and it means more of our population is skilled and in the workforce."

OneSteel's alliances with regional educational centres and employment initiatives has been positive - demonstrated in close partnerships formed with TAFE, the ATC and the Goal 100 project.

The steelworks has provided new and upgraded equipment and materials to TAFE, which has in turn had to increase its resources to meet this demand.

Local high schools are also seeing the benefits of greater options for our youth, applauding OneSteel apprenticeships as a positive outcome for students.

OneSteel is already planning another mid-year intake for 2008.

Long-term, this provides an excellent future for our youth, community and industry.