We spoke with David Price, Firefighter at Avon Fire and Rescue Service working out of the Children and Young Persons Department, about how Avon Fire and Rescue collaborate with Weston College through a range of programmes designed to help learners launch careers in the firefighting industry!

1. What is your relationship with Weston College? e.g. what services do you offer to our students?

We’re proud to share this powerful and personal article written by Claire Chandler, who is now studying for a Level 6 Chartered Legal Executive Apprenticeship with Weston College and working at North Devon Council. Originally published by LawCare, Legally Autistic is Claire’s honest and moving account of her journey through education, diagnosis, and self-discovery as an autistic woman pursuing a career in law.

Weston College learner, Gracie Donaghy, recently won the SPARKS Female Skills Competition 2025! This intense competition challenges participants to complete a live electrical installation from start to finish, testing their knowledge, accuracy, and time management under pressure.

This May, Somerset Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a Business Brunch at The Grove at our Knightstone Campus, where local employers will have the opportunity to stay in touch with existing contacts and make new connections.

The winners of the 2025 Somerset Business Awards were announced recently, at the prestigious Winter Gardens Pavillion.

With nearly 400 people from across Somerset in attendance, winners from across industries were announced, including Weston College and University Centre Weston apprentice, Jack Lewis, working at Singer Instruments - who was named as Apprentice of the Year.

At Weston College, we pride ourselves on providing apprentices with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to excel in their careers. One of our former apprentices, Asha George, is a perfect example of how an apprenticeship can open doors to new opportunities. Asha completed a Level 2 Junior Estate Agent apprenticeship while working at Cross Keys Estates and has since built a successful career in the property industry. She shares with us her journey and insights into the benefits of apprenticeships. 

University Centre Weston (UCW) and the University of Worcester (UoW) have formed a partnership to deliver a brand-new Paramedic Degree Apprenticeship in collaboration with the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT).

Hi, I’m Lola, and I am a Senior Maternity Support Worker Apprentice (the senior healthcare support worker apprenticeship on the maternity pathway). This is my first professional role in the NHS, as I previously completed Innovate and UHBW Traineeship courses at Weston College which helped me develop soft skills to start in this role.

Some of my roles and responsibilities within my apprenticeship include: 

Last week in London, The Engineer hosted the 2025 Collaborate to Innovate Awards. Now in its ninth year, the C2I Awards were established to spotlight exemplary engineering collaborations that address complex societal challenges and advanced innovation. The C2I Awards evening consists of 9 different categories – and Weston College came on top for the highly regarded STEM Initiative Awards for Increase STEM in Apprenticeships!

A common misconception about apprenticeships is that they are aimed at school-leavers making their first entrance into the world of work, typically in a technical or engineering role.

Despite the majority of apprentices being 16–18-year-olds, it is increasingly common to see people in their twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties and beyond going down the apprenticeship route in pursuit of a career change, in almost every industry.