Weston College has revealed the winners of its National Careers Week CV Competition.

Students from across the College were encouraged to put their CV writing skills to use during the College's 'How employable are you?' competitions, which saw prizes worth £50 up for grabs.

The CVs were judged by a panel which included members of the College's human resources department and recruiters at Bristol Airport. 

The triumphant winners were Scott Aldridge and Esme Taylor, and prizes were also awarded to runners up Alexandra Elliott, Samuel Folland, Amy Evans and Jordan Marsh.

Finalists received individual feedback from our recruitment specialists, and every student who entered the competition was given advice to improve their CV from the College's progression team.

Click here to see our CV writing advice.

Just 40 days into the College’s ambitious target of 200 apprenticeship pledges in 100 days, the College has reached the halfway point – persuading 110 businesses to agree to take on an apprentice.

Among the businesses that have pledged are Alliance Home Groups, Restor8, Ketchup, One Big Circle and the NHS. Their pledges have taken on a diverse range of apprenticeships, across professions such as: customer services, adult care, business administration, commis chef, IT and management.

Another organisation which has pledged to take on apprentices during the campaign is Thatchers Cider, which has pledged to hire a commis chef apprentice, a business admin apprentice and an IT apprentice.

Phil Smith, Visitor Services Manager at Thatchers Cider Company, said: “We are very excited to support Weston College’s 200 in 100 campaign. We see apprenticeships as an effective way of building our workforce. In an industry where there is a skills gap, developing and training our own chefs and giving them real life experience is crucial.

“The support we have received so far from the College has been second to none. We look forward to developing our apprentice and hopefully many more apprentices in the future.”

SACO Apartments has hired two leadership apprentices, and Di Gwinnel, HR Business Partner for SACO, said: “It is exciting to get involved with the 200 in 100 campaign and show our support for developing aspirational talented individuals. We have taken on two apprentices and the whole business is looking forward to helping them develop.

“Weston College has been extremely helpful and I would highly recommend getting in contact with them to support you with the whole apprenticeship process.”

Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of the Weston College Group, said: “Apprenticeships play an important role in developing highly skilled workforces for organisations and it is fantastic to see how many businesses are making use of our Training Solutions team to help develop young people and adults across the South West.

“We have seen more apprenticeship opportunities open up for our students across a range of sectors, which is very exciting for the College and our learners.”

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

For more information and to pledge go to: www.weston.ac.uk/200in100. You can also email the apprenticeship team at enquiries@weston.ac.uk or call on 01934 411 594.

Weston College’s Hair and Beauty students have had a busy weekend at a charity event in Weston-super-Mare and an opera production in Bath.

On Saturday, 30 learners from the College’s Hair and Beauty Centre gave up their afternoon and evening to do all hair and makeup at the Weston Hospicecare Strictly Fun Dancing event. They spent a long afternoon at the Winter Gardens Pavilion, doing hair and makeup for 24 contestants at an event that raised £18,000 for the charity. 

Meanwhile, a team of 16 FdA Hair, Beauty and Prosthetics Production students were collaborating with Bath Spa learners. They completed hair and makeup for an opera production of Cosi fan Tutti at the Michael Tippett Centre in Bath. 

The project collaborating with Bath Spa Production learners has been a week long, evening commitment for the College’s FdA learners, who all spent their evenings working on the project. 

Sandra Bull, Area Manager of Hair, Beauty, Hospitality and Catering at Weston College, said: “It has been a really busy weekend for our learners and staff, six of whom also gave up their Saturday to support our learners. 

“We’re incredibly proud of the commitment and dedication all of our learners show, whether they are the Hair and Beauty Centre team or our FdA learners. Not only have these events really helped them develop their skills, but they’ve also been given an opportunity to get involved with the community and help a fantastic local charity.”