[L]akes College staff and students celebrated National Apprenticeship Week 2018, which ran from the 5th-9th of March this year. The aim of the week is to get people together to celebrate and highlight apprenticeships as a pathway to a great career.
A variety of companies and business owners visited the college throughout the week to inspire and inform students and apprentices about the benefits of apprenticeships. Learner sessions also included: interview techniques, opportunities available, recruitment, progression, employability, self-development, training and career tips and techniques.
Employers & organisations involved included: Army Reserves, Allerdale Police, The Centre for Leadership Performance, The National Youth Film Academy, Fixers Charity, Morgan Sindall, Sellafield, Arup, Elizabeth Hunter, Pride In North Cumbria and Balfour Beatty.
Engineering, Construction and Nuclear students attended an informative session hosted by Morgan Sindall, Sellafield and Arup, raising awareness of apprenticeships in Engineering. The session was highly interactive with a recruitment task named the “the perfect candidate”, where each student was given a job description and asked to write what education, work experience and hobbies and interests they think would suit that specific role. The companies brought a handful of their current and past apprentices to talk about their varied career paths and how each one of them has progressed to their current job. One of the main focuses was networking and making yourself known to local companies to increase your chances of securing your preferred job.
Former apprentice Ellis Postlethwaite who studied his HNC (Higher National Certificate) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Lakes, spoke about his progression from the college to securing a job with Morson’s projects, to finally landing his current role at Morgan Sindall. Ellis stated, “visiting the college to speak to students has been a fantastic opportunity to share my personal experiences and offer advice and guidance, interacting with my potential future work colleagues.”
Current student Connor Atkinson, studying Nuclear Engineering and Science at the National College for Nuclear said: “I found the session very useful and beneficial to hear first hand from students who have worked their way up through their career ladders, not just using their qualifications, but other skills.”
Another workshop ran at Lakes College this week was led by The National Youth Film Academy, focusing upon improving the employability of 16-25 year olds, who would like to land a variety of roles within the media/film/television or performing arts, once they have left education.
Yvette Embleton who works for The National Film Academy said: “The session was extremely rewarding as we were given the opportunity to open students’ minds to the possibility of working in film and screen as a viable option, with a large variety of jobs available suited to each individuals’ personalities and skills.”
The session was attended by Art, Photography and Graphic Design students and covered a range of topics including: advice for job applications, recommended programmes to use for projects, interview techniques, workshops, freelancing and apprenticeships options available at The National Film Academy.
Art and Design student Morgana Perrett said: “The workshop has been great as it has emphasised for me how important passion in the industry is, there is an emphasised need to make yourself and what you are capable of doing known, which is achieved through a developed set of people skills.”
Thanks to all the companies and staff involved who helped to make the week a fantastic success!
