The first series of the Irish Apprentice will be screened in the autumn on TV3 and will offer one of fourteen candidates a 12-month contract with Renault Ireland worth around €100,000.

The hit show originated in America and is headed up by Donald Trump. It depicts a number of ‘applicants’ battling for the job opportunity of a lifetime over a period of weeks.

Since the success of the American version, other versions have sprung up throughout the world.

Other incarnations of the show are now screened in Africa, South Africa, Belgium, China, as well as the well-known version in the UK with Alan Sugar and in Germany, where it is called Big Boss.

Bill Cullen is also a well known author of a book called ‘It’s a Long way from Penny Apples’, and is working on a second called ‘Streetwise’, which will impart the business knowledge he gained over the years.

We will be following the series right the way through to the finish and we hope you’ll keep on returning to this blog for updates and fresh news.

Programme-makers ShinAwil, who are behind the new show, have been accepting applications over the past two weeks in a bid to find 14 aspiring apprentices to take part in the 12-week long show that screens in Autumn.

Despite the fact that both of the finalists in last year’s BBC programme were female, in the shape of Michelle Dewberry and Ruth Badger, Irish women appear a little more daunted at the prospect of doing battle in the business world.

“The producers have been inundated with CVs and we noticed there is a 70-30 ratio in favour of men,” said a TV3 source.

“We were amazed ourselves when we noticed that the number of applicants were predominantly male and we have no reason for that. Ireland is as far advanced a country in terms of equality as anywhere else.”