While getting involved in volunteering can help you develop a large number of transferrable skills which are vital to being successful with job applications, getting involved with volunteering can do much more for you that just provide something for you to add to your CV...

A series of studies has proven that volunteering has a positive effect on your mental health too, one study even finding that volunteering is the best activity for improving your mental health.

This is because volunteering helps you feel more socially connected as it usually involves working as part of a team towards a common cause. This in turn makes you feel happy and wards off loneliness and depression.

If you are feeling stressed or you feel generally undervalued, getting involved with your local community can be beneficial to help improve your mental health.

Our chef apprenticeship scheme is helping to inspire the next generation of chefs, but everyone has to start somewhere! Here are our favourite simple kitchen hacks to help you cook up a storm...

Use dental floss to cut cakes

This might sound crazy, but dental floss is ideal for getting perfectly straight cuts in cake. Make sure you use unflavoured floss, pull it taut (make sure you use a piece wider than your cake) and then use it to cut straight down the cake. Voila! 

Pre-make your favourite herb mix

If you have a go-to herb mix you like to use in your cooking a lot, save time by making ahead! Just combine your choice of herbs with oil in ice cube trays, then freeze. When you’re ready to use them, just pop out a cube and defrost it in the pan.

Know how to store your food

Some fruit and veg can make other produce in your fridge ripen – and then rot – much faster. Bananas, avocados, apricots, apples and other foods release gases that cause other foods to rot, so be sure to keep them away from other fresh fruit and veg.

Always make sure your oil is hot enough

A lot of dishes require heating up your oil before you can cook. A simple way of checking is, rather than looking for hidden signals, throw in a small cube of bread. If it fries up, the oil is ready and you can take it out without affecting the other flavours in your dish.

You don’t necessarily need a garlic crusher

Recipe asking for crushed garlic but you don’t have a crusher? Not a problem. If you crush the clove with the flat side of your knife, it’ll make it easier to dice up into smaller pieces. Crushing the clove can also help if you’re finding it difficult to peel.

Find out more!

If you're interested in cooking, why not enrol onto our chef apprenticeship scheme? You can find out more information by visiting our hospitality page.
 

Weston College has successfully managed to achieve its target of 200 apprenticeship pledges in just 71 days.

Following on from previous successful campaigns, the College decided to raise the bar and launch the ambitious attempt to create 200 apprenticeship places for students across the South West in just 100 days.

With 75 days having past, the College has managed to achieve 211 apprenticeship pledges with 25 days left to continue to create opportunities. Among the businesses that have pledged are Yeo Valley, the NHS, Poppy’s Homecare and NK Sports.

The pledges have taken on a diverse range of apprenticeships, across professions such as: customer services, adult care, business administration, commis chef, IT and management.

One firm that has pledged is Bristol based software and technology company One Big Circle. Emily Kent, Director of One Big Circle, said: “Thanks to Weston College’s 200 in 100 campaign we now have a fantastic Software Developer Apprentice in place, recruited from an excellent field of candidates. 

“We were impressed with how the whole process was managed and supported, and we hope to recruit other apprentice roles through the College in the very near future.”

Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College, said: “We are thrilled with the achievement of reaching this ambitious target with so much time to spare.

“At Weston College we aim to create brighter futures and this campaign is further proof of that as we are helping young learners take their first step onto the jobs ladder.

“The skills gap is a hot topic for businesses at the moment with employers wondering where their future work force is going to come from, but through this campaign we have been able to source talented apprentices with businesses across all sectors.

“Throughout this campaign we have built new relationships with employers, and I look forward to these progressing further in the future. Thank you to all of our employers and regional partners for supporting such a valuable initiative.”

You can keep an eye on the campaign’s progress across social media, with #200in100 being used on Twitter.

There is still time for you to pledge to take on an apprentice in the campaign, click here. You can also email the apprenticeship team at apprenticeships@weston.ac.uk or call on 01934 411 594.