An upsurge of interest in Apprenticeships at Weston College is being celebrated to mark National Apprenticeship Week.

In recent years the number of Apprenticeships at the College has grown enormously, making Weston College one of the biggest facilitators of work-based training in the region.

More than 90 per cent of College apprentices are now retained by their employers after their training period has finished, and the College works with around 1,000 employers from across the region.

This week (March 3-7) is National Apprenticeship Week and College-related events have been going on all over the area.

A Weston College-branded stand in Weston-super-Mare’s Sovereign shopping centre attracted passers-by interested in information about Apprenticeships.

The College also visited eight schools including ones in Bridgwater, Clevedon and Nailsea. Children were given an introduction to Apprenticeships, including a talk from an employer, and employment taster sessions were on offer.

It also marked the launch of ‘100 in 100’, a College-led bid, supported by the National Apprenticeship Service and the Weston Mercury newspaper, to create 100 new Apprenticeships in 100 days. One of the key aims of the campaign is to raise awareness of the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE), which is available for eligible businesses who take on a young apprentice.

One of the week’s highlights was the Skills Show, which took place at the Winter Gardens on Tuesday March 4. Around 3,000 people - including many local schoolchildren turned out for the European Social Fund and Local Enterprise Partnership-funded event, which was facilitated by Weston College.

Major local employers were on hand to give advice and offer taster sessions in catering, construction, business, hair and beauty and healthcare.

Tim Walsh, 20, a Weston College apprentice working at DoubleTree at Hilton Cadbury House Hotel in Congresbury, was mixing non-alcoholic cocktails with Max Bennett, another College apprentice at the same hotel and a WorldSkills award winner.

Tim, of Winscombe, said: “I’m loving the apprenticeship and it’s given me a great deal of confidence in connecting with customers and delivering the best I can.”

Max, 19, added: “It’s great to be at the Skills Show and we’re getting a lot of interest in what we’re doing. Hopefully this might lead on to some new employees in the future.”

James Wilmot, Weston College Apprenticeship Recruitment Coordinator, said: “The popularity of this week’s events proves how strong the interest in Apprenticeships is, which is borne out by the variety of Apprenticeships we offer.

“Increasingly, it seems, young people are seeing Apprenticeships as a way to earn while they learn and this interest is helping to generate many worthwhile placements leading to greater opportunities.”

Weston College student Chloe Edrich, 16, could be heading to Rio de Janeiro this summer after securing a place at the national time trials for the 2016 Olympics.

Chloe, who studies A Levels at the College and is a member of its Academy of Sport, posted a qualifying time in the 200m breast stroke and will attempt to make the required time in the 400m individual medley and 400m breaststroke.

Chloe said: “Studying at Weston College has enabled me to improve my swimming, but has also supported me in achieving my academic targets.”

Her mother, Kelly Edrich, said: “It was amazing to see her smash the time she needed.

“She’s done fantastically well so far and it would be brilliant if she could make it all the way.”

Paul Taylor, Sports Development and Performance Manager at the College, said: “Chloe has worked incredibly hard to get to this point.

“Combining an Elite Athletic and Academic programme is challenging and requires commitment and dedication, we are very proud of her achievements.”

The Weston College Academy of Sport offers aspiring sportsmen and women an opportunity to further develop their potential, providing them with outstanding coaching, training and support both individually and as a team.

It allows College students to combine their academic or vocational studies with participation in sporting activities at local, regional and national levels.

Are you interested in filmmaking but don’t know where to start? To save you searching online through pages and pages of guidance we’ve boiled it all down into five key pieces of advice for filmmaking novices…

Get out and shoot something

This is a fundamental part of our film courses, and crucial for anyone who wants to learn the art of filmmaking. Shooting as much as you can means you’ll learn about your equipment, but it doesn’t matter what you record with - you’ll still be learning what works and does not work when capturing a scene. We encourage our students to go out and film as much as possible, they make an average of 12 films over two years.

Learn to edit... it’s more accessible than ever before

Most computers and laptops these days come with basic video editing software as standard, and even on phones there are apps which can be utilised to edit recordings. At Weston College, our students have access to Adobe Premiere CC, Final Cut Pro and a huge range of supporting software. We have expert in-house tutor support on hand to guide our students through the editing process.

Upload your footage and test audience reaction

This means you’ll get valuable feedback on your work which you could use to improve your filmmaking. Our students regularly present their films to peers and tutors for feedback. You could upload your films to YouTube, Facebook or your own website, and when you’re confident enough submit them to film or art festivals. Our students’ films have screened at local cinemas including the Odeon, Watershed, Arnolfini and the Cube in recent years.

Watch everything you can

We encourage our students to watch a lot of films. The more you watch, the more you will be inspired to create. You can also pick up on other filmmakers’ techniques by watching their films, and recreate them to enhance your creations. At Weston College most of the tutors are working filmmakers themselves, and are able to give our students further insight into the filmmaking process.

Don’t give up. Keep creating, learning and refining

Every filmmaker has things that go wrong or wishes they could reshoot certain films, and even the best directors have flops. The more attempts you make, the more you will learn about filmmaking and the greater your chance at success.

We offer our students every opportunity to hone their skills; working on their own, with their peers and on industry based projects throughout their time with us. This intensive exposure to filmmaking is the best way of preparing you for your footsteps in the industry, in whichever direction they may go.

Want to find out more? Our film and media courses cover the basics of filmmaking and more!