A Weston College Apprentice brewer saw his own bottled bitter served at Weston College ‘Oscars’ glittering awards evening attended by 300 people to honour apprentices and businesses. 

Dean Masters, 19, scooped Entrepreneur of the Year at the College's Excellence in Business Training Awards 2013 event on Thursday (June 13th) at the Winter Gardens. 

Dean, who works for Masters Brewery in Wellington, was also Highly Commended in the Hospitality Learner of the Year both for his creative skills and the way he has overhauled the independent brewery’s website.  
He said: “It’s fantastic to win the awards and see my specially brewed 4.3 per cent bitter served up. I’ve also made a Hawaiian Dwarf 7.5 per cent beer brewed with fresh mangoes plus a locally sourced mint and chocolate Imperial Stout.” 
The UK Apprentice of the Year, Emma Rogers, of Cheddar, also took Outstanding Achievement of the Year Award. 
The 20-year-old mum-of-one won Gold for Great Britain at WorldSkills competitions and recently opened her own beauty business in Wedmore.
She said: “I wasn’t expecting this and I really believe in the power of education. My aim is to become a role model and inspire other young people to go for their dreams.”
Employer of the Year was awarded to Broad Street Hair who also took Hair and Beauty Employer of the Year.

Director Wayne Hill who set up the company with sister, Tracy Taylor, has six branches in North Somerset and is set to expand.

Wayne said: “It’s fantastic to win the awards and I want to thank Academy Manager, Charlotte Leach, who deals with the Apprentices. Charlotte has a degree in physics and biology but decided to work for Broad Street because she loves teaching and hairdressing.

“We have 24 Apprentices and we work very closely with Weston College so it’s great to be recognised by them. “

John Kennedy took Achieving Above All the Odds Award.

The 45-year-old was addicted to drugs and alcohol since he was 14 and only learned to read and write when he was 29.

He has now been clean for eight years and supports people with addiction at Weston’s Broadway Lodge centre.

He said: “I am very happy with my life now. For so many years I just took, now I spend my time giving and it’s very rewarding.”

Alliance Homes took Construction Employer of the Year and Compliance Manager, Ian Carpenter said: “We have 12 Apprentices and I love to see young people gain the skills they need to be successful for the rest of their lives.”

Apprentice Amie Johnson won Sale of Residential Property Learner of the Year working for Heritage Estate Agents.

The 20-year-old has excelled in her job by selling more homes in Yatton and Clevedon than any of the other qualified employees.

She said: “I love my job and one day I’d like to run my own business, it’s fantastic to win this award.”

The evening was sponsored by Honeyfield Property Services and n-ergy. Judges included Department for Work and Pensions Partnership Manager, Tim Cowley and N-ergy Executive Director Tracy Jones. Students from the Wessex Academy of Performing Arts entertained guests before a three-course dinner.

Keynote speaker, Director of Skills for South West England Local Enterprise Partnership, Jane Middleton who said: “I am delighted to work with Weston College and this is one of the most successful Local Enterprise Partnerships in the UK.”

Weston College Principal and Chief Executive, Dr Paul Phillips OBE thanked everyone attending and said: “The last 12 months have proved exceptional for us despite the challenging economic climate.

“We place great emphasis on partnerships with businesses, funding agencies, North Somerset Council and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, partner schools and universities.”

A Level students at Weston College achieved a 99.8 per cent pass and 20 per cent of Higher Education students achieved a first class honours degree – way above the national average of 14 per cent.

There has been a 113 per cent growth in Apprentices as the College’s Business Enterprise Centre works with more than 1000 employers from Gloucestershire to Cornwall.

There are more than 50 apprenticeship programmes and over 90 per cent go on to become permanent employees.

Dr Phillips added: “Our motto is ‘Creating Brighter Futures. At Weston College the learner comes first. This is assisted by the tremendous partnerships we've made with business, and efforts of learners themselves.”

List of Business Awards 2013

Students:

Accountancy Learner of the Year: Yannis Aravadinos

Beauty Learner of the Year: Rebecca Morley

Business Learner of the Year: Cara Hiscox

Care Learner of the Year: Sarah Porter

Childcare Learner of the Year: Elizabeth Williams

Customer Service Learner of the Year: Nicola Durkin

Hair Learner of the Year: Bethany Miller

Hospitality and Catering Learner of the Year: Steven Newman

Sale of Residential Property Learner of the Year: Amie Johnston

Principal’s Awards:

Entrepreneur of the Year Dean Masters

Student who has made the biggest impact Chris Dixon

Achieving above all odds John Kennedy

Outstanding achievement of the Year to Emma Rogers

Opportunity North Somerset Award: Delyth Meredith-Jones

Business Awards:

Small Business Employer of the Year: Meiji Techno

Large Business Employer of the Year: Logistics company DHL

Care and Childcare Employer of the Year: Little Bears Day Nursery

Construction Employer of the Year: Alliance Homes

Hair and Beauty Employer of the Year: Broad Street Hair

Sales of Residential Property Employer of the Year: Michael Gould Property Agent

Hospitality Employer of the Year: The Golden Lion

Teaching Assistant Employer of the Year: Mead Vale Primary School

Principal’s Awards:

Individual’s Commitment to Training: Jenny Evans, Shared Lives, North Somerset Council

Business’ Commitment to Training: North Somerset Council

Employer of the Year: Broad Street Hair

If you would like to view the pictures from this evening's event, please view them here. 

Whether you’re dreading the thought of staying in education for another two years, or have thrived at school, choosing to come to college could be the perfect decision for you.

Weston College offers a much larger choice of courses than any school is able to. As well as a wide range of A levels, we offer vocational qualifications which are focused on preparing you for work; you may even spend your time learning practical skills in our Hair and Beauty Centre, training kitchen and restaurant or Automotive Technology Centre. On top of this, Weston College is the only place in North Somerset where you can start with an entry-level course and leave with a degree. But the difference between school and college doesn’t stop there!

Although the idea of leaving the familiar surroundings of your school might seem daunting, coming to college is a fantastic opportunity to meet new people and expand your social circle. Lots of other people will be new to college at the same time as you, so your new surroundings will be the perfect place to create friendships.

We provide our students with a fantastic level of support; as well as having a Personal Tutor, you will have access to our Welfare and Student Support Services team, who can help with non-academic concerns such as: health, housing, alcohol, drugs and bullying. We also have excellent provisions for students with disabilities and/or learning difficulties.

You will learn in an adult environment, helping you to prepare for university or work; you will be able to work independently and take responsibility for your own studies, while receiving support from teachers who are well-qualified, experienced and passionate about their subjects. It’s likely you’ll be on a first name basis with your teachers. Because there’s a high ratio of tutors to students, you’ll receive all the support you need from your Personal Tutor.

At school, it is likely that you would be expected to be there all day, every day. At college, your timetable probably won’t be so full and you will have the flexibility to study at home, or elsewhere, when you don’t have class. Our LibraryPlus facilities provide a great environment for studying outside of class time. Along with books, DVDs and eBooks, you can borrow computers and iPads for use in the library.

We run a wide variety of enrichment activities, so there’s something for everyone. You could choose to get involved in film club, LAN gaming, volunteering, dance and music lessons. There are also groups for young carers and LGBTA. If you enjoy sports then there are opportunities to play football (for both men and women), rugby, netball and golf with our Sports Academy. Other sporting opportunities include classes on mixed martial arts, ultimate frisbee, table tennis and archery amongst others. For an affordable termly fee, you can join our industry-standard gym at the Knightstone Campus.

You may also choose to become a student ambassador, volunteering your time to support College events such as open evenings, collegiate interviews and marketing events. Being a student ambassador will help you develop a number of key skills including: teamwork, public speaking, interpersonal skills and self-confidence. This makes a fantastic addition to your CV and/or UCAS application.

Finally, Weston College is officially Ofsted outstanding and can boast excellent pass rates, so you can rest assured that we’re good at what we do! Our pass rates speak for themselves – 98% for both A levels and vocational courses.

The College can also help you get an apprenticeship or traineeship, both of which enable to get practical experience in a number of different industries. 90% of our apprentices are offered permanent positions by their employers at the end of their training.

Browse our website to see the full range of courses Weston College offers or request a prospectus.  If you have any questions, give us a call on 01934 411 411.

As Weston College celebrated Women in Engineering day last week (23 June), Liz Griffiths, the College’s Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, looks back on her decision to enter into the profession.

She said: “When I left school I was unsure about the career path that I wanted to pursue.

“I knew that my favourite subjects were maths and physics, so I wanted to find an occupation that related to those subjects.

“I was lucky enough to attend a seminar on women in engineering and was immediately interested in the exciting and varied career options that are available in the engineering industry, so I started to investigate the different kinds of apprenticeships that were available.”

Liz was accepted onto a four-year apprenticeship with Westland Helicopters, and was employed by the company after completing her study.

At Westland, she worked on Lynx and Puma aircraft before moving to Westland Industrial Products as a manufacturing planning engineer.

Prior to joining the College in 2016, she worked with GKN Aerospace on the Airbus A350.

Liz added: “The most important piece of advice I would give to girls that are considering getting into engineering is that it’s a very diverse and well-paid career and there is bound to be a pathway that interests you.

“If you’re unsure, it’s worth going to college open days to see what different types of engineering courses and apprenticeships are available.”

Somerset is home to over 4,600 regional, national and international engineering businesses, including major manufacturing and aerospace companies.

Over the next five years there will be 1.86 million jobs available to people with engineering qualifications, and people who graduate from university with engineering and technology degrees typically earn 20% more per year than graduates in other fields.

You can find out more about Weston College’s engineering provision here: www.weston.ac.uk/subject/engineering