Colleges ‘Make an impact’

St Helens and Knowsley Community College enjoyed a jam-packed week of exciting activities in support of National Apprenticeship Week 2020.

In February they celebrated the outstanding successes of their current apprentices whilst promoting apprenticeship opportunities to young people and demonstrating how employers can benefit from employing an apprentice.

National Apprenticeship Week launched with the school liaison team conducting a range of insightful apprenticeship information sessions to young people at several schools across the borough, sharing CV tips and guidance on how to search and apply for apprenticeship vacancies.

In addition to this, St Helens College hosted an apprenticeship open event to provide young people and parents with the opportunity to gain key information about the types of apprenticeships available, current live vacancies and how to apply.

Housing development company, Gleeson Homes were also in attendance during the event to facilitate an informative Q&A session.

In addition to planned activities, some of the talented and skilled apprentices featured in a week-long social media campaign to inspire and encourage others to ‘look beyond’ the common misconceptions of apprenticeships and to ‘fire up’ their future career.

One of their featured apprentices, Oliver (pictured above), studied the level 2 Diploma in mechanical engineering at Knowsley Community College before securing an impressive level 3 apprenticeship with established manufacturer, Beverston Engineering.

The engineering apprentice said: “I work on various high performance Mazak machinery across the workshop, manufacturing Rolls Royce engine components. I am responsible for making sure each high precision part is accurate to within a 1000th of a millimetre.”

“My apprenticeship has provided me with invaluable work experience and the opportunity to learn outside of a classroom, as I get to make products for a pioneering aerospace company.”