CEO of Sefton Chamber of Commerce, Steve Dickson, joined Hugh Baird College’s Workforce Development Team to welcome employers and young people to the College’s Apprenticeship Evening.
The aim of the event was to give business contacts, new and old, an opportunity to find out about the benefits of apprenticeships straight from those who have already employed one. The networking evening gave advocates of apprenticeships, including National Apprenticeship Service Business Development Adviser, Julie Foster, a chance to share their knowledge of the practicalities of taking on an apprentice, from funding and training, to the valuable resource they can become. Also taking part in the activities were some of Hugh Baird College’s current apprentices and their employers, who were interviewed by Mr Dickson about their experiences of the apprenticeship process.
Amongst those on hand to answer questions were Phil Hughes and Michael Von Bargen, both employed by One Vision Property Services. Michael is an apprentice electrician with the Sefton based social housing provider, who were recently recognised in the Sunday Times Top 100 list as the best company to work for in the UK. Speaking before the event eighteen-year-old Michael said: “I did an apprenticeship because I wanted to learn a trade. I always enjoyed working with my hands and I think that if you have a trade you’ll be set for life. I’d recommend doing an apprenticeship and Hugh Baird College is fantastic. It’s easy to settle in, the people are friendly and they all want you to succeed.”
Jo Watkins from One Vision Property Services supported Michael’s views saying:
“We currently have four One Vision Property Services apprentices at Hugh Baird College and are looking forward to enrolling three more in September. Our aim is for them to progress as far as they wish to in their chosen trade, within One Vision Property Services, and on into management or higher education if appropriate. We hope to be able to help them achieve this in partnership with Hugh Baird College. We have found the support the College gives to our young people is invaluable in their development with us. It is important to us that when we employ young people, we send them to a college with the same commitment, dedication and work ethic as One Vision Property Services. We believe that we have found this with Hugh Baird College, which is why they are our preferred provider. We have received very positive feedback from our apprentices who are all thoroughly enjoying their courses.”
Also presenting at the event was Julie Foster from the National Apprenticeship Service. She explained the funding and eligibility criteria for the Government’s Youth Contract – a £1billion package of support to encourage small and medium sized businesses to employ young people. Under the scheme, the National Apprenticeship Service will provide up to 40,000 Apprenticeship Grants of £1,500 to organisations employing less than 250 employers recruiting their first 16-24 year-old apprentices.
Other companies represented at the event included Beauty at Its Best and Exclusive Hair Design, building and maintenance contractor Fletchrose Homes and the College’s partner for renewable energy courses, Eco Environments. It presented a great opportunity for the College to showcase some of the young people who aspire to be apprentices and Business Development Manager, Beth Nolan, said: “Hugh Baird College works hard to link businesses with young people. This event was an obvious step forward in this process with many employers who haven’t recruited apprentices before pledging a commitment to do so.”
If you would like more information on apprenticeships, click here or contact the Workforce Development Unit at Hugh Baird College on 0151 353 4456.