July 2010
Construction career reaps rewards
30 July 2010
A love of joinery has led to further award recognition for a South Tyneside apprentice. After discovering a passion for woodwork while still at school Scott Gray, 21, from Hebburn, jumped at the chance to take up an Apprenticeship in Joinery and Site Carpentry with South Tyneside Homes in 2007. Having successfully completed an NVQ Level 2, Scott has already progressed onto an Advanced Apprenticeship in Wood Occupations which he aims to achieve by the end of the summer.
Within the last five years South Tyneside Homes have recruited and trained 65 apprentices. The organisation annually recruits apprentices across four main trade areas: plastering, electrical work, plumbing and joinery. The intake is based upon the ongoing needs of tenants and leaseholders within the borough.
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Counting the value of Apprenticeships
30 July 2010
Keeping an eye on the costs of a high profile £100m engineering project might not be among the usual duties for a teenager. But for star apprentice Gareth Powell, 18, from Ingleby Barwick, his level of responsibility reflects his capability, ambition and the trust of his employer.
As a Junior Cost Engineer, Gareth reports directly to the Cost Control Manager. He is currently working on a series of cost reports for the development of a major biomass combined heat and power plant based in Fife, Scotland. The plant will be the biggest of its kind in Scotland and will replace an existing coal-fired power plant, significantly reducing carbon emissions.
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NAS chief Simon Waugh talks about his plans for Apprenticeships
19 July 2010
Simon Waugh, chief executive of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), discusses the future of Apprenticeships and pre-Apprenticeship training with FE News.
Watch the interview »
Superdrug store superstar is Apprentice of the Year
16 July 2010
Holly Manley, a retail management apprentice from Erith in Kent, has been crowned Apprentice of the Year 2010 by the National Apprenticeship Service at the annual Apprenticeship Awards.
Holly, 20, is a shining example of how an Apprenticeship can provide opportunities and training to expand career horizons. Through her hard work, she has progressed two levels from store supervisor to manager in a matter of months and she now leads a successful team at Superdrug, achieving high sales targets and creating a productive working environment. Speaking at the awards ceremony, Holly said:
“My Apprenticeship has opened up lots of avenues in a short period of time. It’s amazing to be selected from all the apprentices nationwide to be a winner of the National Apprenticeship Awards. The Awards reward and recognise apprentices and the businesses that employ them. I’m delighted to be representing all of the amazing apprentices across the country that help make employers more productive, and efficient. My employer is very proud of my achievements.”
Holly was amongst eight winners at the awards ceremony, which took place in Westminster. Other successful candidates include Rosy Apple Childcare, a nursery school in Preston; City of Lincoln Council; and food manufacturing apprentice, Sunè Brunton, from Martins Foods Limited, who develops products for major supermarket chains.
Find out more about the Awards and the winners »
Apprenticeships set to boost the region's economy by £1.2billion
14 July 2010
Apprenticeships will boost the Yorkshire and the Humber economy to the tune of £1.2 billion* within six years, if every business hires just one local apprentice, according to research revealed today by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS).
The surprise findings unveiled by the NAS are designed to demonstrate the true economic value of Apprenticeships to businesses across the region and promote its new ‘Return on Investment’ (ROI) tool which allows individual firms to calculate the potential financial returns gained from investing in apprentices.
The new easy-to-use ROI online calculator is available free at www.apprenticeships.org.uk and takes into consideration factors such as salaries and anticipated training costs, when forecasting the impact an apprentice can make to a company’s bottom line. The tool also draws on the latest research from the Warwick Institute for Employment Research** into the costs and benefits of Apprenticeships, and is another service from the NAS to help employers make the right decisions.
**‘The Net Benefits to Employer Investment in Apprenticeship Training’ produced by Warwick Institute for Employment Research
Derby apprentices set to shine at 'Skills Olympics'
11 July 2010
A trio of accounting apprentices from Babington Business College in Derby are gearing up for the finals of the WorldSkills Competition to be held later this month, after beating off the competition and scoring an impressive 97 per cent during the qualifying heats held earlier this year.
Apprentices, Daniel Inglis, 20, Rebecca Jones, 18, and Louise Muggleton, 20, make up Team Babington and will be competing in the Accounting Technician Skills Competition, part of the IT and Business Administration category. The first team to ever be entered from Babington Business College, the apprentices know that the pressure’s on, but say they have their eyes firmly on the prize.
Building business on strong foundations
7 July 2010
A small North East construction company is building strong foundations for its future, with the appointment of an apprentice bricklayer. Mike Hodgson started up his building business under his own name, over 25 years ago. From his base in Heighington, County Durham, Mike‘s work takes him all over the North East.
Like many people in the building trade, Mike has been faced with difficulties during the recession. However, perhaps his biggest challenge was to ensure that he had the right skills in place to coincide with an economic recovery. “Strangely enough it wasn’t the economic downturn that gave me my biggest cause for concern. I noticed that there was a real shortage of qualified people with specific industry skills,” said Mike.
“I was desperate to recruit a competent and reliable bricklayer, who would be motivated and committed to my business, but I couldn’t seem to find the right person. I knew that the Apprenticeship programme would provide the perfect solution. Now I have found someone who suits my immediate business needs, but it also means I have the right skills in place to take advantage of new business opportunities in the upturn.”
Read the full press release »
Last Updated: 02/08/2010