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 recently welcomed 400 GCSE students from local schools for a hospitality industry taster say with The Chefs’ Forum Academy, designed to get them interested in a career in the industry.

The event, held at the Winter Gardens Pavilion, saw students from Worle School, Hans Price Academy, Backwell School, Voyage Learning Campus, Robert Blake Science College and NSETC welcomed with ‘mocktails’ and canapés made by the College’s Level 2 hospitality students.

The students were then treated to demonstrations from some top chefs on The Chefs’ Forum demo stage, including a fish demonstration from Professional Master Chef Finalist Elly Wentworth (Lucknam Park), and a lesson in pricing from UK Curry Chef of the Year Stephen Gomes (Moksh) and Istvan Ulmann (Berwick Lodge).

Demo chefs were also joined by the College’s level 2 hospitality students, and Istvan Ulmann was joined by his new apprentice, Lillianna Young, who has recently completed her level 3 qualification with the College.

The school students also got some hands-on experience during Gavin Roberts’s butchery demo, learning how he makes sausages for the Kernow Sausage company, and were given free hotdogs made with Kernow Sausages to try.

Sandra Bull, Area Manager for Hair, Beauty, Hospitality and Catering at Weston College, said: “The day was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and it was fantastic to see so many young faces inspired to consider careers in catering and hospitality, with demonstrations by talented local chefs and industry experts.”

Catherine Farinha, Founder of The Chefs’ Forum Academy, said: ““It was a real honour to be asked to stage this event by the College. The Chefs’ Forum Academy is going from strength to strength and feedback from teaching staff and students is fantastic.

The Chefs’ Forum Academy work in partnership with the College to provide classroom-based hospitality and catering students with guest lectures and opportunities to attend industry events.

Art students at Weston College have produced a dazzling centrepiece for a local store’s Christmas marketing campaign.

All Level 2 Art and Design students were asked to design Proper Job’s Christmas ‘Shed of Wonder’, which is used to sell trees at the Devonshire Road hardware store.

This ‘real-life’ brief involved researching the store’s customer base and producing relevant designs for the shed.

A winning design – produced by Erin Popham – was then chosen, and students worked in shifts over two weeks to bring it to life, on-site at the Proper Job warehouse.

Art and Design Lecturer Ben Thomas-Taylor said: “Work experience, such as this, is a compulsory part of the Level 2 course. It provides many benefits for our students, giving them relevant skills and experience to help them stand out to potential employers, whilst helping them to choose the right sector to work in.

“For the past two years we’ve collaborated with Proper Job, designing and painting their 'Shed of Wonder', as part of their Christmas marketing campaign.

“Every student worked hard bringing to life the winning design and did a fantastic job. The company were very pleased and told us it would appeal perfectly to their customer base.”