Weston College has announced the launch of a new Higher Level Apprenticeship in Civil Engineering.

The new programme is a Level 4 apprenticeship which incorporates an NQV Diploma in Construction Site Supervision and an HNC in Construction in the Built Environment.

The apprenticeship will be delivered in the workplace, with apprentices attending the College’s brand new Future Technology Centre one day per week to complete practical and written assignments.

The Future Technology Centre was built in response to employer needs to fill identified skills shortages within the construction and engineering industry, and to meet the skills demand that the Hinkley Point C project will bring.

The new programme is being launched with Wessex Water, who have confirmed an intake of four apprentices due to start in January 2017.

Becca Thurston, Apprenticeship Coordinator from Wessex Water, said: “Uniting employers with education is key to ensuring the economic success of not only our business, but also our region.

“It is well known that there are significant skills gaps across many industries and the responsibility to solve that lies in a partnership approach.

“Wessex Water has identified that a crucial method of addressing our skills requirement is to find and support high quality training providers, such as Weston College, to design, develop and deliver courses, programmes and apprenticeships to fulfil our business needs.

“We’re excited to see what our joint future holds, how we can work together to ensure our local and wider communities understand the possibilities and opportunities within our industry, and how we can support each other to ensure Weston College continues to provide outstanding training which is relevant, business led and, most of all, effective.”

Liz Redwood, Executive Director of Apprenticeships and Business Development at Weston College, said: “Wessex Water is a key partner of the College.

“We are already supporting them in recruiting and training laboratory technician apprentices and we are delighted to be expanding our relationship.

“Weston College recognises the importance of engineering and construction skills in the South West and we will continue to invest heavily to develop our offer to businesses.”

If your business is looking to upskill or reskill your current workforce and would like to find out more about this programme, please contact the Apprenticeship Team on 01934 411 594 or email apprenticeships@weston.ac.uk. 

Weston College launched its annual Creative Arts Summer Show last week, showcasing work from further and higher education students.

Students and staff from across the Creative Arts faculty came together to put on a spectacular opening night which saw around 1,500 visitors view the students’ work and watch a variety of music performances in the sunshine.

There was also street food and refreshments available on opening night, encouraging people of all ages to visit the show with their families.

Hundreds of students from across the Creative Arts faculty are participating in the event, which showcases work from art and design, media, music, performing arts and many more course areas.

Farhath Siddiqui, who studies FdA Film and Media Arts Production at UCW and has made a vlog about the event, said: “This is my fifth Summer Show and they get better and better every year.

“It is so nice to see everyone come together to showcase their work, and also just have a good time, chill and celebrate our achievements on opening night.”

Sarah Clark, Creative Arts Head of Faculty, added: “I would just like to thank and congratulate all staff and students involved in the Creative Arts Summer Show 2017.

“Opening night was a huge success with no issues and overwhelming positive feedback and words of support from visitors.”

The show is currently still open to the public until Thursday 22nd June, between 10.30am – 4.30pm on weekdays.

We have been using Weston College for our apprenticeship program for the last three years now. Weston College has been extremely helpful with this process and we have always been impressed by the candidates that they have given us.

The process worked very well as a representative from Weston College came and met with us to learn about our business and the office environment that we run. They then sent us CVs for candidates they felt would be suitable in our required role and we handpicked candidates from these for interview.  We started off by offering a traineeship program to the successful candidate which lasted four weeks, this allowed us to analyse their suitability for an apprenticeship and to see if they would fit in with the culture of the business.

It is very difficult to judge a candidate from an initial interview as some candidates may not be confident in a formal interview yet could be very confident and capable in a team environment. This initial four-week program also allows the candidate to decide if our work place is the correct choice for them rather than just going for an interview, accepting the job and then finding that they don’t feel comfortable in that work place.

We were very sceptical when we first took on an apprentice due to their age and maturity, however, I am pleased to say that they have exceeded our expectations at every level.

It is important to us that the candidates are smart, conscientious, hard-working and willing to learn. We strongly believe that you get out what you put in, which is why we expect the apprentices to show commitment to us and in return we will show commitment to them. We believe in continual training and upskilling our staff, even after the apprenticeship has finished, allowing the candidate to be successful in their chosen career.

We have found the apprenticeship program extremely beneficial to our business as it has allowed us to mould them into the role we required within the business. 

Two of our apprentices have passed their qualifications on time and the third is due to finish this month. We have been so impressed with our apprentices that we have offered them full time employment and they are now very valuable members of our team.

One of our apprentices has gone on to become a fully qualified Mortgage Adviser and the other is now a full qualified Will Writer.

We would highly recommend the apprenticeship program and Weston College.

Nick Barnes,

Director

EveryStep Financial