Lord Alan Sugar’s Young Apprentice chance for Merseyside teenager

Oct 30 2012 by Tina Miles, Liverpool Echo

A BUDDING fashion designer from Merseyside is among those trying to impress Lord Alan Sugar on this year’s Young Apprentice.

Patrick McDowell from Greasby is one of 12 candidates hoping to win over the business guru and his advisors Nick Hewer and Karren Brady when the show returns on Thursday.

The fashion and textiles student, who is studying AS-levels at St Mary’s Catholic College in Wallasey, wants to stitch together a successful career in the fashion industry.

Candidates, all aged between 16 and 17, will undertake a series of business-themed tasks over the course of the eight week show.

The first challenge, which is called Rags to Riches, will see the teenagers attempting to make money from other people's cast-offs.

The prize on offer is £25,000 and a place on the ladder to business success.

Patrick, who is a regular eBay shopper, already transforms cheap clothes into creations for next to nothing.

The 16-year-old said: “It’s incredible to have this chance to do what I love most. I love working with textiles to create unusual and stunning effects. It would be fantastic to use my skills one day to have a career in the fashion industry.”