Bridgwater College held an Apprenticeship Business Breakfast to celebrate the beginning of National Apprenticeship Week.
The free event was attended by 19 local businesses and included short talks from Bridgwater College’s Apprenticeship team, Thales and a current graphic illustrator apprentice.
Matt Tudor, Bridgwater College’s Director of Business Development and Marketing, talked about the Government’s three million Apprenticeship target and how the College’s Apprenticeship provision has grown in recent years, doubling since 2012. Chris Young, Head of Apprenticeships at Bridgwater College, detailed the breadth of companies the College works with, from micro, SMEs and Blue Chip, who employ over 1,500 apprentices with Bridgwater College.
Information was given about the new Levys being introduced by the Government and the employer allowance of £15,000 to offset against the Levy payment, available to all employers, across all sectors. Chris said,
“This is an exciting time for Apprenticeships with the quality and offering continually improving, creating work-ready individuals for business. We are encouraging employers to come and speak to us to talk about how we can link the new allowance to their company.”
Bridgwater College’s Vice Principal, Andy Berry, spoke about the benefits of Apprenticeships, as he himself started his career 30 years ago as an apprentice. There have been many changes in the Apprenticeship provision in that time, including new frameworks, such as the bespoke Steel Fixing programme, designed by Bridgwater College with industry, and currently the only one of its type offered in the UK.
The high standard of Bridgwater College’s community and employer offering was recently acknowledged with presentation of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize, which forms part of the UK Honours system.
Nick Clapp, Lead Engineering Manager from Thales UK addressed the audience to talk about their existing Apprenticeships and how they tie in with Thales’ growth ambitions, including doubling the Apprenticeship intake for 2016 and diversifying the Apprenticeship programmes on offer.
Attendees also heard from Maisie Beaton, 19, a Graphic Illustrator apprentice with Thales, who won the 2015 Apprentice of the Year Award at Bridgwater College’s Apprenticeship Awards Evening. Maisie explained the benefits of Apprenticeships for apprentices, including earning an income, job experience, and achieving a qualification. Nick said,
“Apprenticeships attract young and enthusiastic talent for businesses. At Thales, we fully appreciate that young talent furnished with new skills and an inquisitive mind-set have a direct impact on the business and enable us to remain competitive. We have found the driving ambition from young people is phenomenal; I am amazed at the dedication and high level of performance apprentices bring to business. Working with Bridgwater College means we have been able to put on lots of different programmes for apprentices, which address directly the needs of our business. We ensure all employees, whatever level they are at, are involved with our Apprenticeship programmes.”
A Q&A session was then held with questions such as:
Are Apprenticeships important for SMEs too?
The majority of Bridgwater College Apprenticeship work is with SMEs. Apprenticeships can be a success, whatever the size of the business. SMEs can take advantage of the Levy without having to pay into it (if their pay bill is less than £3 million).
How will the College communicate the Levy and other developments with SMEs?
New Trailblazers will be informed to SMEs through the Business Development team and Account Managers.
If you would like more information about Apprenticeships with Bridgwater College, please contact the Business Development team on 01278 655111, or email business@bridgwater.ac.uk.
