Apprentices from across Cumbria battled it out in a challenge designed to test their innovation and teamwork.
Gen2 celebrated National Apprenticeship Week with its annual challenge, held last Friday.
The flagship event saw apprentices from all three Gen2 centres come together and learners battled it out in a series of technical and creative challenges, from designing multi-functional robots for Robot Wars to engineering showcase sculptures that demonstrated their trade skills.
Additional tasks included volunteering projects and developing interactive school resource kits and explorer boards.
The challenges highlighted apprentices’ technical ability, creativity, teamwork, and leadership.
This year, Gen2 welcomed its largest-ever audience, with almost 400 people watching, including staff, apprentices, and more than 65 visitors.
They included students from Whitehaven’s St Benedict’s School and Maryport’s Netherhall School, who joined to learn more about apprenticeship routes and career opportunities within industry.
Destiny Hanlon, Engineering Step in2 apprentice at Gen2, said: “The challenges were fun, interactive, and gave us a chance to be noticed by local employers.
“They put us out of our comfort zone, which is good because we’ve learnt new skills we didn’t have originally.”
The event was supported by:
- Cavaghan & Gray / 2 Sisters Food Group
- Ewanrigg Junior School, Maryport
- Futamura Chemical UK Limited
- James Walker & Co Ltd
- Bransty School
- Mayfield School
- Forth Engineering
- Netherhall School
- DWP
- Leo Group
- Energy Coast UTC
- M-Sport
- Kimberly-Clark
- St Benedict’s
- Sellafield Ltd
Cameron Fisher, challenge judge from M-Sport, added: “It’s great to try and attract new people to apprenticeships and it’s been a very insightful day.
“Some of the work created in such a short space of time shows how much time and effort they put into this and it’s mind-blowing how much they can do in a day let alone in the rest of their life.”
