Apprentices Celebrate as Part of National VQ Day
People were honoured for having achieved Foundation and Advanced Apprenticeships together with a variety of Level 2 and 3 National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) under the Government's Train To Gain service.
Amongst those honoured on the evening was Jayne Loydon from Burton, who works for MacLellan International Ltd based in Redditch, a leading provider of facilities services including security, catering, cleaning and waste management. Through the Train to Gain service, Jayne successfully achieved an NVQ Level 2 in Cleaning & Support Services and was praised during the presentation for her hard work and dedication.
Commenting on the presentation, the College's Director of Employer Engagement and Marketing Howard Boswell said, "There has been widespread coverage in the press recently of the Government's drive to increase the number of people taking apprenticeships with a target set of one in five 16-18 year olds taking up an apprenticeship by 2013. This is a welcome initiative, which will go some way in alleviating the current skills shortage being witnessed across the region. Tying in with this is the first national VQ Day, which has been launched to counter the prejudice, which currently surrounds vocational qualifications. Despite not enjoying the prestige that academic qualifications such as A Levels do, NVQs have very clear benefits and often lead to further study or better jobs. Vocational qualifications provide the best of both worlds with the opportunity for people to receive a mix of high quality College and on the job training. To succeed you need to show dedication and commitment and this presentation provided the opportunity for the College to acknowledge this. All the students now have the knowledge and experience which will enhance their careers."
Views echoed by Deputy Principal Resources & Corporate Services Derek Sharp, who presented the certificates, who commented, "The importance of apprenticeships can be illustrated by the fact that last September the College was awarded a £2.4m contract by the Learning and Skills Council to deliver almost 700 work-based apprenticeships by the summer, representing a 30% increase in the previous year's contract. The College has both a very successful apprenticeship programme, together with an effective Train To Gain service, ensuring that companies, sub-contractors and small owner-managed businesses have access to highly skilled people across a wide range of trades. This was reflected in our recent Ofsted inspection, which identified the College's commitment to working in partnership with local employers to ensure that employees are able to develop their skills in line with the demands of their job as a particular strength, whilst our responsiveness to the needs of learners and employers was highlighted as outstanding."
Apprenticeships are aimed at 16 - 25 year olds and provide an alternative route to full time education, combining a real job with ongoing vocational training in 16 different subject areas. In addition, a new apprenticeship scheme for adults has been launched which is open to both employed and unemployed people aged between 24 and 59, who either want to retrain or improve their qualifications. For more information call Employer Engagement on 01283 494510.
Train To Gain provides an opportunity for employers to train their employees at no or very low cost with wage compensation offered for those companies who employ less than 50 people. For more information contact Lisa Lukaszewicz on 01283 494512.
Photo (L to R): College Assessor Shirley Kelk, Jayne Loydon & Jason White from MacLellan International Ltd
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