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 is working with West of England local authorities to develop and deliver a bespoke flagship apprenticeship scheme.

The West of England Civil/Highways Apprenticeship Programme is being created with Bristol City Council, Bath & North East Somerset Council, North Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council.

The aim of the collaborative approach is to address the current skills shortage while also focusing on finding future employees and growing talent within the unitary authorities.

Liz Redwood, Head of Weston College’s Training Solutions said: “This is an innovative and collaborative approach by the authorities, helping them to address issues around staff recruitment and retention.

“The authorities recognise that the pipeline of major developments coming forward across the West of England and South West, along with the potential impact of the new Hinkley Point C (HPC) development, could exacerbate these issues.”

The bespoke West of England Civil/Highways Apprenticeship Programme has been designed to meet identified joint requirements of the authorities.

It will comprise up to 13 apprentices, across the four authorities. Each apprentice will be employed directly by one of the authorities and will undertake the majority of the apprenticeship there, but will have opportunities to rotate around the four authorities to gain experience in different areas of specialisms. One day a week the apprentices will attend Weston College’s new Future Technology Centre at the South West Skills Campus for further training.

In addition to providing technical skills and experience, the apprenticeships will also focus upon personal development. Each apprentice will work towards a Level 3 Civil Engineering and Technical Support Apprenticeship, which includes units on construction technology; construction and design; science and maths for construction; construction processes and operations; tendering and estimating and exploring civil engineering.

The first wave of vacancies will be advertised on our website from 1st February, with further vacancies being advertised during National Apprenticeship Week (March 14th-18th).

Dr Paul Phillips, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College, said: “Weston College is delighted to be working in partnership with the West of England unitary authorities, helping them to deliver a bespoke, pro-active and innovative approach to planning for their future skills requirements.”

A Royal Marine who lost his leg helping a crashed motorist on the M3 visited Weston College to give an inspirational speech to sports and public services students.

Lee Spencer, 47, came across the car accident and began helping the injured driver and passengers using first aid training he had learned during his 24 years in the army.

Suddenly, another car crashed into the vehicle, sending the car’s engine and gearbox flying across the motorway lanes towards him. The impact severed his right leg and dislocated his left.

He used the training he learned as a Royal Marine to instruct a bystander to tie a tourniquet around his wounded leg and got the bystander’s daughter to stop the bleeding by standing on his femoral artery.

He told the students about the impact the accident had on his life, and how he was inspired to help change other people’s lives by raising money through a variety of sponsored walks, marathons and even rowing 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

He gained a place in the Guinness Book of Records for being part of the first disabled crew to sail the Atlantic raising awareness for Row2Recovery.

Rebecca Ranson, Weston College Section Area Manager for Sports and Public Services, said: “This was a fantastic and inspiring opportunity for the students to find out about life in the army, how to act in an emergency situation, and how the training they're undertaking can help in real-life scenarios.”