BQ North East Special Feature

APPRENTICESHIPS

Raising key workers

SPECIAL FEATURE

Reviving valuable vital disciplines A teamwork endeavor

WELCOME bqlive.co.uk

Getting right results Welcome to this BQ special report in which we shine the spotlight on training and apprenticeships.

The importance of training and the dangers posed by the so-called `skills gap’ have been too well rehearsed to need further expansion here. What is more important is that we should explore better ways of providing business with the qualified people it needs and some solutions to overcome the obstacles that prevent this.

In these pages we attempt to do just that. We interview Tom Dower the newly appointed principal of UTC South Durham, a university technical college which will be opening its doors this September to concentrate on STEM subjects and work hand-in-glove with local manufacturers to prepare its students for the workplace,

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CONTENTS

for apprenticeships or higher education in technical subjects.

We also examine and celebrate some of the work being done by the region’s employers to create apprenticeships and to employ apprentices and we also take a look at some of the events on offer during National Apprenticeship Week.

These pages also contain a full report of our latest BQ Live Debate. Held at Newcastle’s Vermont Hotel recently, it brought together some of the North East’s leading experts on apprenticeships to discuss the forthcoming changes to apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship Levy and how it is likely to affect businesses.

We trust you enjoy the read and that it provides food for thought.

Peter Jackson, Editor, BQ

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BUSINESS UPDATE

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TOM DOWER

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LIVE DEBATE

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ROOT AND BRANCH

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HANDBAGS

Focus on challenges and opportunities

Neglected diciplines now win attention

Fitting apprenticeships into skills challenge

Thinking about the next generation

Opening opportunity in traditional crafts

Creating Outstanding Futures Apprenticeships with East Durham College Why choose EDC: Expert staff with up to date knowledge, skills and experience Professional recruitment service structured around your business needs Outstanding practical training facilities Flexible delivery to suit your business

Our priority is to provide capable and committed apprentices who can help to drive your business forward.

To find out more or to arrange a tour of our outstanding facilities, please call 0191 518 5587 or email emma.norbury@eastdurham.ac.uk

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18/09/2015 11:48

BUSINESS UPDATE Expert tooling increases apprenticeships Industrial automation supplier Expert Tooling and Automation which has opened a multimillion pound new building at Rainton Bridge in Sunderland, is addressing the industry skills shortage. The company’s new building will lead to 25 new jobs, half of which have already been created, with the remaining posts expected to be filled in the next 12 months. Expert now employs 56 people in Sunderland. Operations director Dave Bartell said: “Apprentices and graduate trainees make up about 30% of our workforce. We currently have nine apprentices and seven graduate placement students.

“We identified quite early there was a huge skills shortage in our industry, and we needed to embark on new development plans.”

Expert Tooling’s apprentices follow an eight year development plan, with four years craft and four years in technical design training.

Bartell added: “The group sees a long-term future in Sunderland, because the North East cluster of automotive industries is so strong.”

Expert Tooling also gives guest lectures at the University of Sunderland and has two students on paid one-year placements, who receive vocational experience of engineering with the view to joining Expert when they have completed their degrees.

(l to r) Cllr Paul Watson, Leader of Sunderland City Council, with Expert Tooling’s Dave Bartlett and Angelo Luciano.

Insuring for the future Henderson Insurance Brokers on Teesside is helping give local young people their first step on the career ladder with the recruitment of three apprentices.

Harry Wood, 16, of Stockton has secured an apprenticeship in the company’s claims department after leaving St Patrick’s Catholic College, Thornaby.

Jamie West has been hired as an apprentice broker. The 19-year-old has joined the firm after leaving Egglescliffe School. Tiegan Taylor-Helm, 18, who lives in Ingleby Barwick, also is an apprentice broker, previously having achieved a Level 3 Business Studies qualification from Middlesbrough College. The apprentices will be trained in technical insurance knowledge, using one-to-one workshops and online resources. They also will gain qualifications from the Chartered Insurance Institute and receive local CII training.

Emma Simkins, a director at Henderson Insurance Brokers’ Teesside Office, said: “Apprenticeships are the perfect way to earn while you learn. We are providing the apprentices with real world business experience as well as allowing them to continue their education.

“By joining Henderson Insurance Brokers the apprentices will gain both practical and theoretical experience, they will have an advantage over their peers who haven’t had experience working in a busy office environment.

“Tiegan, Jamie and Harry are proving themselves to be hard-working intelligent young people with a strong future at the firm. We are delighted to have recruited three committed individuals who will help to shape the future of the next generation of workers.”

Taylor-Helm said: “I opted for an apprenticeship rather than university as I feel it bridges the gap between business and education and you get the best of both worlds. I will continue my education but also gain experience within a successful business.”

“These young people will have an advantage over peers who havent worked in a busy office”

BUSINESS UPDATE bqlive.co.uk

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Skills gap widens New figures released show the UK continuing to face a worsening skills crisis.

Despite the overall rise in job creation, the vacancy rate continues to increase, and is particularly acute in specialist areas such as IT and engineering. The latest Labour Market Figures, produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal there are 588,000 more people in work than this time last year, but that there has been a 6% increase in the number of unfilled roles over the same period, as there are now 756,000 vacancies. Meanwhile, the latest CBI/Accenture Employment Trends Survey revealed that 52% of respondents believed that developing and maintaining digital skills within their organisation has a new urgency.

Despite there being more than 2 million students enrolled on degree courses in 2014/15, with a 3% increase in full-time first year enrolments in engineering and technology subjects, businesses often find that graduates are not adequately prepared for the workplace. Steve Hill, director of external engagement at The Open University, said: “The skills gap is affecting everyone, holding back businesses and having a knockon effect on British economic productivity.

“In most cases, the answer to this shortage is right under our noses – with up to 90% of the current workforce still in work over the next decade. With the right training and up-skilling, these individuals can become the engineers, data scientists and high-skilled digital workforce the UK needs to compete on the world stage. The challenge now is for governments and the academic sector to work together to develop courses that meet the needs of businesses, and provide the right support for those committed to developing their careers.”

Where standards dip North East pupils have a better chance of attending a good or outstanding primary schools than elsewhere in the country but standards fall at secondary level.

According to Ofsted’s Annual Report for 2014/15, which gives a state of the nation picture of the performance of schools, colleges and further education and skills providers in England, the North East has the greatest proportion of pupils – nine out of

Legal insight Endeavour Partnership is working with the legal stars of the future to help them decide on their career paths.The Stockton-based commercial legal firm has teamed up with Teesside University to give their law students an experience of what it is like to work in the industry.

As part of the ongoing partnership, around 30 students joined the team at Endeavour to take part in a ‘day in the life of a lawyer’ gaining an insight into what goes on behind the scenes of the various departments and specialisms, including commercial litigation, banking and finance, employment, corporate recovery and insolvency, commercial property and many more. Practice manager at Endeavour Partnership Sharon Hutchinson said: “Retaining local talent is very important to us as we know there is so much in our region. We strive to continually recruit the very best the legal profession in the North East has to offer as we, as a business, continue to grow. Indeed some of our current trainees and partners themselves qualified at Teesside University and have been working with the Teesside University students to explain how they have progressed through their careers.”

Professor Paul Crawshaw, acting Dean of the School of Social Sciences , Business and Law at Teesside University, said: “We pride ourselves on being able to offer students first hand industry experience to complement their academic studies and we have strong working relationships with a number of regional employers.

ten – attending good or outstanding primary schools than elsewhere in England.

Provisional results for Key Stage 2 in 2015 showed that the attainment and progress of primary school pupils in the North East was in line with or above the national level on every measure: reading, writing and mathematics. In 2014, both Key Stage 2 pupils who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) and those who are not, performed well compared to similar pupils nationally.

However, there was “a very significant disparity between the quality of primary schools and the quality of secondary schools in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber’’.

The gap is particularly wide in the North East at 22 percentage points between the proportion of good or outstanding primary schools compared to the proportion of good or outstanding secondary schools. One in

three secondary schools in the North East and in Yorkshire and the Humber were not judged good or outstanding at their latest inspection, meaning 130,500 pupils were not attending a good or better secondary school. Provisional results for GCSEs in 2015 showed that fewer pupils than nationally made the progress expected between the age 11 and 16 or achieved the benchmark level of five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including English and mathematics. The region also scored badly for early years with the report finding that too few children in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber achieved a good level of development at the end of the early years foundation stage (age 5).

The North East in particular had the lowest proportion of children nationally reaching this benchmark. There was better news for further education colleges in the North East.

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BUSINESS UPDATE bqlive.co.uk

SSI Task Force fund is helping apprentices and employers Tees Valley companies have rallied to the aid of 51 apprentices who lost their jobs when SSI closed. All of the apprentices have been able to continue their training thanks to a £1.7m Task Force Apprenticeship Fund.

The fund is being administered by Tees Valley Unlimited and the new roles were secured thanks to the SSI Task Force and Middlesbrough-based technical training

provider The TTE Technical Training Group, which coordinated finding new placements.

Of the 51 former SSI apprentices, three have yet to be placed. Those apprentices in their first year are back in full time training with TTE while it seeks new placements for them.

Amanda Skelton, Task Force chair and chief executive of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said: “I’m pleased that our local businesses have been so supportive and it’s key that more individuals and companies come forward and take advantage of the funds that the SSI Task Force has to offer.”

Among the companies to offer new roles to the apprentices were Chemoxy International Ltd, one of Europe’s largest independent chemical manufacturers, Lotte Chemical UK, a subsidiary of KP Chemical Corporation, Doornbos Equipment in Billingham and Fasset FM Services Ltd at Wilton Centre. The Apprenticeship Fund is just one part of the wider Tees Valley Business Support Schemes - available through the SSI Task Force.

• Traineeships and Pre-Apprenticeships – numerous benefits to employers • Apprenticeship Training and Funding Advice • Professionally Accredited Training • Entry Level to Honours Degree • Bespoke Training • Recruitment and Selection

t: 01670 841 268 e: training@northland.ac.uk www.northumberland.ac.uk/employers

The schemes are open to a wide range of companies looking to recruit and grow their business in 2016. This includes the Jobs and Skills Fund – a wage subsidy scheme to enable businesses in Tees Valley and surrounding areas to create new job opportunities.

The scheme subsidises the cost of employment for each new job created for a minimum of three years with a payment of 50% of the basic salary costs in the first two years of employment up to a maximum of £11,000 per employee. The Jobs and Skills Fund has already helped create more than 150 new jobs, while firms in the SSI supply chain and others in Tees Valley have been able to create and safeguard over 300 jobs with help from the other support funds available.

Employers interested in making an application are asked to contact the team at Tees Valley Business Compass.

It is the team’s role to support ambitious businesses to realise their growth potential by unlocking finance and funding streams.

INTERVIEW bqlive.co.uk

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Apprenticeships are not necessarily in high tech skills, there are also good careers to be had in traditional crafts, as Handbag Clinics apprentices show

New apprenticeships in the bag Handbag Clinic, which repairs accessories from the world’s leading designers, is training three new apprentices to meet rising demand. The company’s rapid growth means it needs a constant intake of apprentices, who are given on-the-job training in cleaning, repairing and restoring designer handbags.

It offers a range of cleaning, protection, stain removal, repair and restoration services.

Handbag Clinic in Newcastle also stocks a range of second-hand designer handbags.

Currently, the firm, which launched in 2013, employs 25 people, including the three recent apprentices. However, managing director Ben Staerck is aiming to take on two new apprentices every month this year.

Along with taking on new staff, Handbag Clinic, has also increased the size of its repair workshop in Burnopfield, County Durham, by 15% to 3,800 sq ft.

The expansion comes after the firm opened its first store on Chelsea’s Kings Road in 2013 before launching on Mosley Street, Newcastle.

Handbag Clinic is now servicing around 600 handbags every month, including brands such as Chanel, Hermés, Celine and Louis Vuitton.

Staerck says: “The service we provide at Handbag Clinic is so unique that it is

impossible to recruit someone who already has the exact skillset we need.

“All of our apprentices are given on-thejob training to make sure they are able to do whatever it takes to make a designer bag look like new, whether it is giving a Hermés Kelly a complete coat of colour, repairing the handles on a vintage Gucci or removing an ink stain from a creamcoloured Celine Phantom. The techniques have to be just right as we’re dealing with customers’ bags which are worth hundreds, often thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands of pounds.” Handbag Clinic usually looks for candidates with an arts or creative background when recruiting new apprentices. While many already have some sewing and needlework skills, they are taught all the other necessary skils at the Handbag Clinic repair centre.

Staerck’s younger brother Adam, who is the firm’s training and development manager, teaches new recruits everything from how to clean handbags to how to remove wine or

“We’ve had instances where interviewees have not turned up”

ink stains or to provide a full colour change.

The three latest apprentices, Luke Keers, Terri Suniga and Victoria Knight, are now able to carry out a restoration which would include a full exterior and interior clean, and a colour match performed to the most original colour on the bag, followed by a full recolour.

Adam said: “What are seen as traditional skills like sewing are at risk of dying out.

While a few decades back, people wouldn’t have thought twice about taking up their own seams, sewing on a button or darning a sock, those sort of skills are in danger of becoming a thing of the past.

“While being able to sew is by no means all that is involved in the highly-skilled restoration work we carry out here, it does give a good starting point. We’ve had projects which have meant entire bags have had to be dismantled and put together again with new stitching, so having a basic understanding before starting work here does help.

“But just as vital is the right attitude.

It’s not as easy as you would think to recruit the right people. We’ve had several instances where interviewees simply haven’t turned up. Those we do take on get the opportunity to gain a unique skillset in a rapidly growing company.” n

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INTERVIEW bqlive.co.uk

INTERVIEW bqlive.co.uk

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Neglected disciplines gain the attention that they need Academia and business worlds are working together in South Durham to make a real difference to young lives, as Peter Jackson discovers talking to Tom Dower Apprenticeships are particularly valuable in engineering and manufacturing where we face a shortfall of engineers.

It has been estimated that, as a nation, by 2050, we will face a shortage of 36,800 engineers. But a supply of apprentices depends on a good grounding in the STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths. However, these have been neglected disciplines. The CBI annual skills report (Learning to grow, 2012) identified 42% of employers in the North East as having difficulties in recruiting STEM-skilled employees. There are a number of important initiatives underway to address this problem.

Among these is the University Technology College, UTC initiative.

UTCs are government funded colleges, which will teach 14 to 18-year-olds, with an emphasis on STEM subjects, and with the involvement of local employers.

The UTC South Durham, the region’s first UTC, will open its doors in September to students in its purpose-built site beside the new Hitachi train plant in Newton Aycliffe.

For UTC South Durham, which will focus on specialised manufacturing and engineering, University of Sunderland is the sponsor with Hitachi Rail Europe and Gestamp Tallent as founding business sponsors.

The man working to get everything ready for September is Tom Dower, 44, the

college’s first principal and his background – in engineering, managing consulting and teaching – would seem to make him ideally suited to the role.

He worked for ICI on Teesside as a mechanical engineer for about five years before joining a London based management consultancy for which he worked in a number of different sectors from telecoms to retail and financial services.

“I ended up working in banks, which I didn’t enjoy at all, so I retrained to be a teacher, and became a design and technology teacher in London,’’ he says. He moved up to the North East about 10 years ago and has been teaching since and his last role was as deputy head at Ashington High School.

“That combination of local industry, business understanding and teaching has set me up very well for this,’’ he adds. “This is a dream come true for me.’’ He has months to go before this dream becomes a reality but September will soon be upon us, so how are preparations for UTC South Durham coming along? He explains that the college is currently recruiting Year 10 14-year-olds

and 16-year-olds for the sixth form. It needs a minimum of 70 in each year group with up to 120 in the first year. “Recruitment’s going very well. We are more than half full in our sixth form already, with over 100 students signed up and committed. That’s very good progress for three months into recruitment.

“These have been recruited from 23 different schools across a really wide geography, it was always the intention of UTCs to be sub regional.’’

These first students come from as far apart as North Yorkshire and Tyneside.

“Students with that really strong focus on science, technology, engineering and maths are prepared to travel, that is the bottom line,’’ he says.

Recruitment to Year 12 is the easier part, as a lot of schools don’t have sixth forms, but for Year 10 students joining the UTC means leaving their current school and friends. As a consequence, Dower expects the Year 10 cohort “to be a fair bit smaller than Year 12 in the first year’’.

He adds: “I’ve been incredibly impressed by the quality of students who are signing up,

“That combination of local industry, business understanding and teaching has set me up very well for this. This is a dream come true for me”

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INTERVIEW bqlive.co.uk

by which I particularly mean the quality of thought they’ve put into what they want to do in the future. Our students are coming to join us for the right reasons.’’

As the year groups move up, the college will double in numbers until it reaches a total of 600 students. Of those recruited so far, only between 10% and 20% are girls.

“It’s frustrating because I haven’t seen a job in industry which can’t be done just as well by a woman as by a man,’’ says Dower.

“While it probably won’t reach 50:50 there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be at least 70:30 or 60:40, because the type of jobs that are out there in industry are high tech, intelligent jobs, not grunt work in greasy overalls.’’

He says that a lot of girls are put off engineering at school and shares the story of one girl who told a colleague: “It’s no wonder girls don’t go into engineering and STEM. It’s because you keep telling us that girls don’t go into engineering and STEM.’’ Clearly, parents are also a big influence on the career choices made by their children.

“I think we are probably at our most cautious as parents when it comes to our children’s education and these children and their parents are signing up to something that isn’t finished, on an idea rather than anything they can really measure,’’ says Dower.

He explains that it’s the parents of the 14-year-olds who are thinking ahead for their offspring, whereas at 16 the process and choices are much more driven by the students, who are telling their parents what they want to do.

He believes that in the North East there is still an underlying understanding of the nature of engineering and the kind of careers it offers.

“Publicity like SSI doesn’t help but there are still many more jobs being created than are being lost,’’ he says.

At the time of the interview, Dower has not recruited any teaching staff but is about to embark on the search for a deputy principal and then other staff. Ultimately there will be about 15 teaching staff and between eight and ten support staff. So far, he’s had more than 90 expressions of interest in jobs registered on the college website. He anticipates no problems in finding teachers.

“What we are creating is a school full of

“We’ve 30 or 40 companies we are working with to design projects and placements and visits to develop a model of skills needed” students who want to learn these particular subjects and have a real focus, which is a dream for a teacher of those subjects.’’

While A-Level students will be focused on STEM, all the college’s GCSE students will study subjects other than STEM, with humanities and languages provided as options. For some of these subjects the college will either appoint staff who can teach more than one or it will outsource.

The building, which will cost less than £10m, had a delayed start but is back on track to open on 5 September when term begins.

Dower pays tribute to the sponsors – University of Sunderland, Hitachi Rail Europe and Gestamp - for getting the project to this point.

“In addition to that, we’ve got 30 or 40 companies involved that we are working with to design projects and placements and visits to develop a model of the skills that our young people need to work on.’’

This model of the so-called soft or workplace skills such as teamwork, attitude or selfmanagement, will not only be used to give feedback to students about how well they

are doing but also in the recruitment of staff.

“They are the same skills that teachers need to demonstrate to our students,’’ he explains.

The college will concentrate on STEM but Dower is keen to emphasise that this means a widening of opportunity for its students.

“It’s very important that we are not just recruiting engineers in a very narrow sense who might want to work for Hitachi and Gestamp Tallent, making trains and cars. For young people interested in those subjects we want to give them a really broad experience of lots of different companies that we are partnering with across lots of different sectors, which means that young people can really get a sense of the sort of roles and sectors that are open to them.

“At the moment they don’t know, they haven’t had those sorts of experiences.’’

After some debate it has been decided that the students will wear business clothes – grey suits and ties for the Year 10s and smart business wear for the older students and when they go out to companies they will wear what the company wears.

Dower says: “It’s not going to feel like a school.’’ n

PROFILE NCFE

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Quality over quantity: the future of apprenticeships?

Apprenticeships continue to be a hot topic of discussion, with the government making it clear that they are absolutely central to its reforms in education and skills. By David Grailey, Chief Executive of NCFE Almost immediately after last year’s General Election, Skills Minister Nick Boles announced a commitment to creating 3 million apprentices by 2020. This target has been reiterated frequently, including in the Chancellor’s announcement about the apprenticeship levy in last year’s summer budget and the Prime Minister’s keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference.

The target has captured the attention of the media and, through repetition, we’re reminded of the 3 million figure any time apprenticeships are mentioned in the news.

There is, however, one problem. Achieving the target tells us nothing about whether apprenticeship reform has been successful.

To explain further, the whole reason that apprenticeships have become the flagship of skills reform is to help to increase the UK’s productivity, as laid out last year in the government’s productivity plan: “Fixing the Foundations”. If we are to fully understand the impact of apprenticeships, we’ll require a far more complex set of indicators.

First of all, the number measured is in apprenticeship starts – at many levels and at any age. In isolation, this isn’t really a useful indicator. If we looked at the number of starts alongside the number of completions, this would help. For example, if only half of those who started an apprenticeship successfully completed it, we’d be unlikely to hail this as a job well done.

Furthermore, we need to look beyond completions. For any apprenticeship to be deemed a success, it could be argued that the outcome needs to be sustained employment, with a fair wage, following completion. If this can be achieved, then the

Above left, David Grailey, Chief Executive of NCFE

“We need to look beyond completions. For any apprenticeship to be deemed a success, it could be argued that the outcome needs to be sustained employment, with a fair wage, following completion” 3 million target will take care of itself.

The information needed is actually simpler to get than tracking learners into employment through other routes, but will take years to be able to properly measure. It’s also difficult to set a baseline, and therefore a target, which goes some way to explaining why starts has been used as a measure.

So, what can we in the sector do to ensure that apprenticeships increase UK productivity? We would argue that we should ignore the 3 million target, and instead focus on creating high quality apprenticeships with

sustained employment. We should work with employers, but be discerning. We should look to build quality apprenticeships by continuing to work with trailblazers to ensure employers’ valued opinions are heard but standards aren’t lost, and to plan programmes that are robust and result in employment. We should consider the views of learners, who often want to see qualifications included as part of their apprenticeships.

Ultimately, all stakeholders should work together and commit to the challenge with a focus on quality over quantity. Through these actions, we will foster an environment where supply and demand of apprenticeships takes care of itself; and so do the numbers.

Any companies interested in working with NCFE can contact Amanda Madine, Employer Services Leader: AmandaMadine@ncfe.org.uk / 0191 240 8830.

LIVE DEBATE

In association with:

THE VOICE FOR BUSINESS DEBATE

The issue: Faced with a skills shortage apprenticeships are increasingly important to the UK and the government is reforming them with Trailblazer Apprenticeships and the Levy. In this BQ Live Debate, an expert panel debates the question: How can the region close the skills gap with apprenticeships?

Caroline Theobald: Invited the guests to introduce themselves and outline their key issues on apprenticeships and what they hoped to get out of the debate.

Lynsey Whitehead: Said that for her the debate was not only about closing the skills gap but she also hoped that Newcastle College – which would like to position itself as the provider of apprenticeships in the North East – could learn about the issues facing the businesses around the table and how the apprenticeship reforms might affect them.

She added: “We might go away with more questions than answers on that, but it’s a good topic to discuss.’’

Doug Jones: “My biggest gripe at the moment is with primary and secondary school counselling for young people – where is that, why are they coming out of secondary school without the avenue for them to pursue apprenticeships?’’

Lindsay Phillips: “With the apprenticeship levy, the demand for apprentices with the right skills will increase because large corporations will want to use their levy money. Is the North East ready for that?’’

Sarah Douglas: “My burning issue with apprenticeships is the perception of apprenticeships. It seems that young people come out of school and it’s the gold standard down the A-Level and university route but there are some amazing opportunities for young people in the North East with apprenticeships although it’s looked on as a lesser option and that’s really frustrating. I would like to see it held in the same regard as a university degree.’’

Christine Watson: Explained that Esh Group had nearly 150 apprentices in the region. She added: “But I do think we have to support the smaller businesses in the region with the red tape and the support needed to run an

effective employed apprentice programme.’’

Esme Winch: Said she also wanted to look at the effect of apprenticeships changes on the smaller employer. “Because most of this will go over their heads and they won’t want to get involved and there’s a great danger in terms of entrepreneurship it won’t be taken up and that is the seed for growth in the region with our SME economy.’’

Ryan Davies: “The biggest thing for us is hiring people. We have to hire all of our programmers at university level or higher and designers we get mostly from college.

Computer science isn’t taught at primary school and when you get to college it’s still not taught at a decent level. What can we do to get more computer science and design taught at primary school level?’’ He added that another problem was that students were not aware of opportunities with SMEs in this sector.

LIVE DEBATE bqlive.co.uk

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TAKING PART Lynsey Whitehead, Newcastle College Holly Thompson, Newcastle College Bob Paton, Accenture Rob Earnshaw, Creative North Christine Watson, Esh Group Charlotte Windebank, First Face to Face Sarah Douglas, Gateshead Council Ryan Davies, Gospelware Lindsay Phillips, HP Lyndsey Britton, Ignite 100 Esme Winch, NCFE Erika Marshall, Nifco Doug Jones, Tech City Lisa Davies, Ward Hadaway BQ chair, Caroline Theobald, Venue, The Vermont Hotel BQ is highly regarded as a leading independent commentator on business issues, many of which have a bearing on the current and future success of the region’s business economy. BQ Live is a series of informative debates designed to further contribute to the success and prosperity of our regional economy through the debate, discussion and feedback of a range of key business topics and issues.

Holly Thompson: “As technology advances digital skills become more prominent across all roles so is there a place for an increase in digital apprenticeships?’’

Rob Earnshaw: “I’m very fortunate, I’m working in the fastest growing sector [creative digital media}, in the fastest growing region in the fastest growing economy in the developed world.’’ However, he added, there was “a huge skills shortage problem’’. He continued: “How do we adopt greater IAG [information, advice and guidance] in schools and colleges?’’

Charlotte Windebank: “I believe apprentices should be more involved with their own progression routes, they should be taught how to find their own placements and while on placement I think they should be involved in the business development of that company so they can grow their contacts in the business community and the company can be represented by young people.’’

Lyndsey Britton: “It’s about keeping apprentices and graduates in the region and making them aware of the tech scene that we have here.’’ She said it was so fast paced that it could not be left to educators but that industry should be involved in helping give young people skills and getting them “careerready’’.

Erika Marshall: Explained that Nifco had committed to take on an extra six apprentices every year but that it should be seen as a case study for SMEs to do more and also that local authorities should do more to encourage apprentices through their tenders.

Lisa Davies: Said that apprenticeships are now an alternative route into the profession, which some see as a good thing but which others regard as diluting its quality. She asked: “What could employers do which would further incentivise people to choose apprenticeships as a career path?’’

Bob Paton: “For our region to be successful we need more people in jobs. Where are those jobs going to come from? We need to look at the sectors that are doing well and we have some fantastic sectors in the region – creative, automotive, engineering, manufacturing, technology. For this region to be successful, those sectors have got to keep on growing and in order to keep on growing they need more young people with the right skills to

#bqlivedebate Join in the debate online and have your say on the issues raised. If you would like us to organise a BQ round table dinner debate call 0191 389 8468 or email info@bqlive.co.uk

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LIVE DEBATE bqlive.co.uk

join those sectors. How are they going to get those skills? If we haven’t got the skills the jobs aren’t going to come, so we have got to focus on making sure we have the right skilled young people. How are we going to do that?

The schools, colleges and universities in this region do a fantastic job. What needs to be brought into the equation a lot more is that for young people to have the skills we have to marry education and business. We need more people offering careers advice and guidance, offering work experience and more people taking on apprentices. Apprenticeships are ideal for marrying education and employers.

If we can create more apprenticeships in the region, this region will be successful.’’ He added that the North East topped the league table for creating apprenticeships, standing four to five percentage points above any other region for employers offering apprenticeships but that proportion was still 20%. “So there’s a massive opportunity here to win over the 8% and winning over the 8% will transform this region.’’

Caroline Theobald: Asked Bob Paton and Lindsay Phillips to explain how Dynamo had used big business networks.

Bob Paton: Said it took nine months to set up the Newcastle College apprenticeship scheme in Accenture. Successive governments had made setting up apprenticeships schemes complicated and difficult which would deter SMEs, particularly when added to the process of advertising for apprentices and interviewing candidates. There was also a lack of guidance on choosing training providers. Dynamo created an apprentice hub, modelled on a similar scheme in the construction industry, to help SMEs through those stages.

Lindsay Phillips: Said HP was in the process of reforming its apprenticeship scheme, looking at Level 3 and 4 and degree apprenticeships to allow for the development of apprentices. “It takes a lot of time and effort and, if you are an SME, I can’t believe that time and effort exists, so there need to be vehicles to support SMEs through this.’’

He argued that training providers should be “industry ready’’ in terms of provision, allowing an SME to choose a course rather than having to reinvent one, while still recognising that every SME had different requirements.

Caroline Theobald: Posed the question: if young people were not being given careers advice at an earlier age, was it too late by the time they reached college?

Esme Winch: Agreed that advice should be given earlier when choices about which subjects to study were being made.

Lyndsey Britton: Said there was a gap in training after code clubs at primary schools.

She also said it was important to teach coding at an earlier age.

Sarah Douglas: Emphasised the importance of a connection between what is taught at school and the jobs available.

Doug Jones: “Is there currently any flexibility within the curriculum to make people aware of apprenticeships or at least the opportunities available?’’

Esme Winch: Said the latest government announcement allowed for training providers to go into schools to promote apprenticeships.

Rob Earnshaw: Said that schools were advising students to stay on to do A-Levels.

Sarah Douglas: Agreed, pointing out that schools received funding for students in sixth form so they are pointed in that direction.

Rob Earnshaw: Described how his business had recruited someone on a £14,500 apprenticeship but the school had advised them to return to do their A-levels. “There’s nothing wrong with doing your A Levels but when you want to be in marketing and are going to land a £14,500 a year job and are being told you have to go back to school, that’s a huge problem.’’

Erika Marshall: “Another problem is that parents don’t have the knowledge that they

need.’’ She explained that parents had an outdated view of apprenticeships.

Lindsay Phillips: “I think that perception is starting to change. Some of the apprentices we have have made a conscious choice not to go to university. They are very capable people who could well go to university but they don’t want to be saddled with the debt, they want to earn money now and they want in three years’ time, having done their Level 3, potentially Level 4 apprenticeship as well, to be in a better position than their peers at school would have been if they had gone to university, both financially and from a security point of view. One of the things that’s clear to me is that apprenticeships are starting to become an attractive option instead of university.’’ He added that the focus on apprentices was to be welcomed but would put pressure on other sectors and universities would suffer.

Caroline Theobald: Asked whether there was any equivalent to code clubs in other sectors and whether any work was being done to change perceptions.

Christine Watson: Said that there were certain roles Esh found it difficult to recruit for. For example, they found that students in schools had never heard about quantity surveying. She added: “We have to educate and keep the teaching staff aware of the wide range of roles within construction.’’

Bob Paton: Argued that successive governments were responsible for the perception problem for promoting university education and now there was an attempt at correcting that imbalance. The economy of the

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1940s and 1950s was easier to understand and people could see where the jobs were.

The devolution agreement signed in October presented an opportunity allowing for an education and training system that matched the region’s economy.

Charlotte Windebank: “I think the way to really engage young people is for them to have ownership over their own progression routes.’’ She added that the days of the paper CV were over and networking was mandatory for every 16-year-old.

Caroline Theobald: “If devolution gives the region the opportunity to design its own curriculum that’s going to be one way to take control.’’

Bob Paton: Said a request to have control over the curriculum had been denied. He added: “Each young person should get a number of different exposures to different industries to help them mould their thoughts.

If a young person has exposure to five employers or industries, they are 80% less likely to be a NEET [not in education, employment or training].’’

Ryan Davies: Said there was an onus on companies to let young people know what they did and what opportunities were available.

Rob Earnshaw: Said his business, partnering with Accenture and Tech North, was staging an exhibition called Get Digital, on 17 March, of the region’s leading media companies to introduce them to suppliers and job seekers and it would include the careers guidance organisation the Gatsby Foundation. “There’s

no reason why these sector specific industry events can’t be replicated in other sectors.

Now, more than ever, we as a private sector do have to take control of our own skills shortage problem and work with the public sector.’’

Caroline Theobald: Said staging similar events could be an action point for other sectors represented at the debate.

Doug Jones: Said Tech North was putting on an event for employers to engage with young people on 18 March in Leeds.

Lisa Davies: Said apprenticeships were unheard of in the legal sector until recently and in the past apprenticeships at Ward Hadaway has always been in business administration. There were mixed views of legal apprenticeships. “In order to sell it we’ve gone down the route of piloting it internally to show that it can work and it can work in areas where there aren’t a lot of contentious matters such as property where there is a lot of transactional work and where there’s a strong commercial benefit to having a different structure and at the moment that’s proving to be very successful. For a lot of lawyers the jury’s still out and they are not sure whether it’s going to dilute the profession. For me, it enhances it.’’ She said it was good for the perception of apprenticeships.

Lindsay Phillips: “Within your business, do you have role models who have come through the apprentice route who are now successful?’’

Lisa Davies: Said apprenticeships were too recent in the profession but there were

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examples of individuals who had taken alternative routes. The firm had spent a lot of time networking with universities and engaging with young people.

Caroline Theobald: Said that if the target of three million apprentices by 2020 was going to be achieved businesses of every size in every sector would need to take on apprentices.

Bob Paton: “The government wants to push as many higher level apprenticeships as it can.

They are expecting 30% of degrees will be degree apprenticeships.’’

Lindsay Phillips: “There’s a bit of a feeding frenzy at the moment in terms of lots of organisations competing for what that degree apprenticeship will look like, which confuses things.’’

Holly Thompson: Said that for several years Newcastle College had delivered traditional frameworks for apprenticeships and was now moving towards delivering the new Trailblazer standards for which there was currently a consultation process. The college was working closely with tech partnerships on those standards. She added: “They are much more specific, have much more bespoke options and are a lot simpler for employers to understand. We want to take the pain out of apprenticeships from an employer’s point of view.’’

Esme Winch: “The old standards were very simple, you did a tech certification in a college for which you got a qualification, plus your English and maths plus your work experience.

In a Trailblazer it’s much more free form. It’s what the employers want, which is great if

“Each young person should get a number of different exposures to different industries to help them mould their thoughts”

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you’re an employer, and it’s great if you are a big employer, because if you come out with an HP apprenticeship or a Ward Hadaway apprenticeship that’s great but what about the SMEs, Joe Bloggs back street motor mechanic? How does that learner, in their CV have that currency going forward in their career with such a proliferation of different models, at different levels for different employers? As a future employer, what are you taking for granted in that qualification?’’

She added that in the new frameworks there could be no assessment except on the job or by a new employer and an apprentice would not necessarily come out with a qualification.

Lisa Davies: “The implication is that the training standard you have received is going to be much more specific.’’

Esme Winch: “If you come out with a Rolls Royce apprenticeship then you know what you are doing in engineering but not every employer is Rolls-Royce. What about the rest?’’

Erika Marshall: Said it would be like the old university scenario with the contrast between a degree from Oxford or a “mickey mouse degree’’ from Macclesfield.

Holly Thompson: Said it required a minimum of 10 employers to develop a Trailblazer standard and a wider consultation had to be demonstrated and the standard itself created a set of core competencies which had to be assessed against. “It’s much more towards employer-led skills rather than a suite of qualifications.’’

Esme Winch: “But there will be thousands and thousands of standards.’’

Bob Paton: “I think that is a real worry.’’

Lynsey Whitehead: Said the shortlist already fills five A4 sheets. It’s complicated.

We’ve moved it on in term of making it more relevant to employers but the complexity is still there.’’

Lindsay Phillips: “If it’s that complicated for us to understand, if you’re 16 or 18 it’s a nightmare and it’s that entry point that’s really important. Once you’ve got your qualification, your currency is not what you’ve achieved in terms of a piece of paper, it’s how you operate and how you create mobility through your career.’’

Esme Winch: Argued that in many traditional areas such as retail or health and social care

“Of our senior management team, until recently, 11 out of 13 were ex-apprentices. That’s what we want” the qualification was important.

Bob Paton: Said a mixture of graduates and apprentices was needed.

Caroline Theobald: “Do companies want apprentices?’’

Erika Marshall: “Of our senior management team, until recently, 11 out of 13 were former apprentices and that’s what we want going forward. We’ve just taken on another batch of apprentices across all disciplines.’’

She added that it had been a big mistake for schools to give up work experience placements.

Bob Paton: Agreed on the importance of work experience.

Christine Watson: “We genuinely want apprentices. We need young people coming into our ageing workforce.’’ She said Esh’s apprentices were offered careers and the size of the company allowed them to be moved across disciplines and they have shared apprentice programmes.

Lyndsey Britton: “It makes sense that companies should want apprentices but not a lot of them do. First, it’s hard to find them, even for the selection process they don’t have time. Also if they are looking to grow their team I think they would look to recruit and develop someone who can hit the ground running and who knows what they are doing.’’

Rob Earnshaw: “There’s a huge misconception that apprentices are a burden.’’

Charlotte Windebank: Said that young people were capable of more than they were credited with, particularly in the field

of social media.

Sarah Douglas: “It’s not about qualifications, it’s about attitude and behaviour.’’

Rob Earnshaw: “If someone has the right attitude you can teach them the skills.’’

Sarah Douglas: “Do you think the labour market information that is fed into schools to say where our growth sectors and jobs of the future are is good enough for people to make an informed choice about their career?’’

Bob Paton: Said several local authorities were trying to do it and that a North East Combined Authority could do it and identify where the vacancies were. He said 35,000 people were working in the technology sector and that there were 2,000 vacancies. He added: “The more jobs are filled, the more jobs we create.’’

Rob Earnshaw: Said that about 20% of people in the technology sector were female.

“Half our population don’t see tech as a career path. Do more males than females take up apprenticeships?’’

Lindsay Phillips: “We see the same dynamics in terms of gender balance, at graduate level and at apprentice level. It’s an industry trend.

If anything, we see better gender balance at graduate level than apprenticeship level.’’

Caroline Theobald: Asked whether in the automotive supply chain and in construction there was the same level of collaboration as in other sectors.

Bob Paton: Referred to the automotive alliance and Christine Watson to the Constructing Industry Training Board.

Caroline Theobald: Asked Esme Winch if

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she had an overview of all sectors.

Esme Winch: “There’s such a proliferation of apprenticeships now that I probably don’t. There’s still some concern about the lower levels – 2s and 3s – at an older age group [aged above 25 and in work] in some industries. I do think the tech industry is slightly different.’’ She added that apprenticeships could be for those already in work and that they would count towards the government’s three million target.

Lindsay Phillips: “It’s also about retraining and reskilling.’’

Caroline Theobald: Asked about the public sector.

Sarah Douglas: Said Gateshead Council had about 62 apprenticeships in a workforce of about 8,000 and the council used to take on 30 apprentices every year just in business administration. The Levy would have big implications and she predicted that, in the face of redundancies, the trend would be to give apprenticeships to existing employees.

Caroline Theobald: Asked about the Apprenticeship Levy which would be imposed on businesses with a payroll of more than £3m.

Esme Winch: Said it would present an opportunity to redefine skills needs and how staff could be used differently and reskilled.

Bob Paton: Said the final information on the Levy would not be released until this year’s Autumn Statement which would present a challenge as the Levy would be introduced the following April.

Lindsay Phillips: Pointed out that this would present large businesses with budgeting problems.

Christine Watson: “The devil will be in the detail and we need that detail, we need that clarity.’’

Lindsay Phillips: Said that any business which has operations in Scotland cannot use Levy money to pay for apprentices in Scotland. He added: “The Apprenticeship Levy will drive a higher volume of apprentices across business and it will create competition between different educational streams and corporations may choose to hire more apprentices than graduates as a consequence and it will put pressure on other areas of the educational economy. I’m now flipping from hiring predominantly graduates to a point

where next year I will hire more apprentices than graduates.’’

Caroline Theobald: “This is about the future of young people. What about the youngsters?’’

Rob Earnshaw: “It’s so confusing and we need clear role models in schools and colleges.’’

Doug Jones: Said companies such as Nissan, which could bring on large numbers of young people, should be at the debate.

Bob Paton: Said existing apprentices, who young people could relate to, were the best role models.

Lyndsay Phillips: Advocated lobbying for every apprentice spending time back in school talking about their apprenticeship.

Rob Earnshaw: Said there should be a young person’s apprenticeship network to be ambassadors in schools.

Esme Winch: Said it would be up to employers to write that into their apprenticeship programmes.

Caroline Theobald: Pointed out that the schools had to be willing to take the apprentices in.

Lyndsay Phillips: Said there was too much demand from schools to cope with. Others agreed.

Esme Winch: Suggested a webinar or phone-in.

Caroline Theobald: “That is a great idea,

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particularly for SMEs.’’ Lyndsey Britton: “That’s a great idea for us.

We would not be taking up a lot of people’s time where they have to leave their desk to go out to schools.’’

Caroline Theobald: Asked what Newcastle College was doing to make it easier for employers to find apprentices.

Lynsey Whitehead: “It’s really disappointing that there are employers out there who don’t know where to go. We take all that away from the employer at no cost, we take the job description, we advertise the vacancies and we find them potential apprentices.’’

Lisa Davies: Described a pilot scheme in Ward Hadaway’s Manchester office putting the same effort into promoting apprenticeships as trainees.

Bob Paton: “We are fortunate in being the only industrialised region where we can reach out to every school, college and university and to every employer both big and small.

That’s one massive advantage we’ve got.’’ He added: “I suspect a lot of people’s biggest influence are their parents.’’

Lynsey Whitehead: Suggested an email group support network to share ideas and questions to stay in touch. She added: “I’ve certainly found tonight really useful.’’

Caroline Theobald: “And that is it, it’s been fascinating – so thank you Newcastle College and thank you all for coming.’’ n

Understanding key concerns With the recent integration of apprenticeships from our national training provider, Intraining, into Newcastle College we were keen to host a BQ dinner and debate to get a fresh understanding and perspective from employers on how apprenticeships can support closing the north east skills gap and how they feel about upcoming changes that puts the power into their hands. The dinner proved a great success with a range of employers around the table from SMEs to large firms to awarding bodies all representing a wide range of industry sectors. The debate was superbly facilitated by Caroline Theobald, with plenty of lively discussion and opinions on current skills gap issues faced by employers, in particular, there was a sense of shared uncertainty on the new apprenticeship reforms and what it means for business. Throughout the evening the constant theme being referred back to was the need for schools to put the same value on progressing into an apprenticeship as going to college or university. Once that has been addressed participants felt that closing the skills gap would be possible. The event certainly helped Newcastle College understand some of the key concerns that employers have, how we can work together to address those, and focus our efforts to make apprenticeships work for all those concerned.

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“We identified the need for accelerated training and development, because many staff have more than 20 years‘ service”

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Automotive sector company Unipres recognises that a root and branch approach is needed for skills success

Thinking about the next generation

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Automotive sector company Unipres recognises that a root and branch approach is needed for skills success.

The car component company Unipres is tackling potential skills shortages with a comprehensive programme to future-proof its Sunderland plant. Japanese-owned Unipres has been operating since 1989, producing steel components for customers including Nissan, Renault and Honda at its site in Cherry Blossom Way near the Nissan plant. The company employs 1,100 at the site and has held the Investors in People standard since 1999.

The company, which reported a £182m turnover in 2014, kicked off a radical programme last year to increase the skills of the current workforce and prepare new and potential staff.

Unipres HR manager Stuart Sanderson says: “We need to think about the next generation coming through, and also to enhance the skills, of our current workforce.

“We identified the need for accelerated training and development, because we have many staff now with more than 20 years’ service.”

A successful application to the Skills Funding Agency allowed Unipres to put together a comprehensive training and development plan, which covers all parts of the Sunderland plant - and beyond. In all, 15 key areas were identified, and the company aims to address each of them by this spring.

At the heart of the scheme is the preparation of the next generation of engineers. Unipres, which is part of the national Trailblazer Apprenticeship programme developing key frameworks for industrial apprenticeships, has doubled its 2015 apprentice numbers from 10 to 20.

In addition, it is engaging with local schools through the Industrial Cadets scheme and STEMNET programme to encourage young people into engineering. Industrial Cadets is a national accreditation for pupils between 11 and 19 which takes them into engineering companies and provides an introduction to what a career in the sector entails.

Stuart Sanderson said: “We are a big organisation with a lot to offer. We’re also keen to establish links with local universities so we can incorporate graduate students as well.

The company, however, is casting its net even further and is working with local community groups to help people seeking a career in the automotive industry. Sanderson says: “We established links with the Pallion Action Group and discovered that many local people didn’t know what industry was on their doorstep.”

“We worked with recruitment agencies to support the group to get people into work and initially brought some people into plant for a tour. The boot camp at the Action Group gives prospective applicants an advantage: it gets people work-ready and as a result has been successful in getting people into work either with us or other companies.”

At the end of July, Unipres became an accredited training centre, so that eventually it can provide recognised qualifications for its own staff but also potentially bring in people from community groups. This forms part of the company’s long-term aim to set up a skills academy at the factory.

In the plant, training is being provided for operational staff, engineers and management.

Each of the 75 team leaders is currently taking a Level 2 diploma in leadership management and there are plans to introduce a Level 3 management qualification for supervisors later this year.

“By taking this approach it’s helping our competitiveness and encouraging talent within the company,” says Sanderson. n

Exemblary network Councillor Paul Watson, Leader of Sunderland City Council says: “Developing a strong skills base to boost innovation and growth across the North East is key to the health of our future regional economy. In Sunderland, we are proud of our links with the city’s university and college, which have created new learning opportunities across all sectors for current and future employees. With the right skills in place we can attract international companies looking for UK locations, as leading international automotive supply companies have all proved with their decisions to set up UK bases in our city. Sunderland has built an exemplary network of car-making and electric vehicle expertise around Nissan and its key suppliers. In other sectors, we have worked with our partners to update traditional manufacturing skills so that they suit the needs of today’s technologybased companies. And the North East’s growing digital and creative industries demand the specialist skills our universities can and do provide. The end goal is that we identify regional skills gaps and design ways in which, by working together, we create routes into long-term, satisfying careers for local people.”

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“We established links and discovered that many local people didn’t know what industry was on their doorstep”

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WH AT’ S O N I N A P P R E N T I C E S HI P W E E K National Apprenticeship Week is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy. Co-ordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service, it runs from 14 to 18 March. In the North East employers and ambassadors are running a range of events across the region. Here we list some of the highlights:

REDCAR & CLEVELAND BOROUGH COUNCIL

On Monday 14 March – 8.30am to 10.30am – at Preston Park Museum & Grounds young people from across Stockton Borough will attend a special breakfast meeting and have the chance to speak to local employers and take part in activities relating to apprenticeships to find out about their benefits.

On Monday 14 March – 7pm – at ARC, Dovecot Street, Stockton, former Middlesbrough FC players Neil Maddison and Andy Collett who run the Pro Level Academy will present certificates to outstanding apprentices and hand out an ‘Apprentice of the Year’ award.

On Tuesday 15 March – 9am to 4.30pm – At Air Trail Tees Barrage, Stockton, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Learning and Skills service is hosting a day of fun and challenging sporting activities for young apprentices at Stockton’s new outdoor experience – Air Trail Tees Barrage.

Teams of five young people from the local authority areas of Stockton, Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool, Darlington and Middlesbrough will battle it out for supremacy in activities including ‘bootcamp’ and a ‘raft and river’ team challenge. There will be a presentation of certificates and awards for the winning team at the end of the day.

CREATIVE NORTH

Creative North is organising Get Digital on 17 March at Castlegate in Newcastle as a celebration of the creative and digital media sector in the region. It will allow young people to hand out CVs to the region’s best digital and creative companies and school leavers to find out more about apprenticeship opportunities. Businesses can meet future web designers, software developers and marketing companies. Visit: www.creativenorth.org/getdigital/

ACCENTURE Accenture’s Newcastle Delivery Centre will play host to 40 secondary school pupils. Accenture will also lead three

school assemblies, attend a STEM day at a local primary school, speak at a North Durham CEIAG event and attend Get Up and Go at North Tyneside Council (19 March).

The aim is that as many apprentices as possible go back to their old schools or colleges during the week to promote to parents and young people.

Accenture is a lead sponsor at the Get Digital event in Newcastle on 17 March (also sponsored by the National Apprenticeship Service).

Nine Accenture apprentices, studying for a degree in software engineering are being filmed for national apprenticeship awareness raising campaigns to highlight the opportunities for those who complete higher/advanced apprenticeships.

Accenture is supporting the Inspiring Girls STEM event in Teesside and works with the Durham Schools Network and the North Durham CEIAG support network during National Careers Week (wc 10 March) and it continues to work with the Sunderland Work Discovery team.

QUEEN ELIZABETH SIXTH FORM COLLEGE DARLINGTON The college will be hosting its annual Employment/ Apprenticeship and Gap Year Fair on Tuesday 15 March from 12.30 to 4pm in the main hall. Local employers from national and global employers will be attending alongside training providers and gap year organisations.

HAYS TRAVEL

The company is holding open days/evenings across its offices in North East, Yorkshire and South of England to allow potential apprentices access to information on Hayes apprenticeships.

Head of retail Paula Barrett, who started with the company as an apprentice, will be supporting National Apprenticeship Week messages and will advocate through NAW promotional videos.

More events and pledges will be promoted through the online tools on the .gov.uk NAW2016 pages: www.naw.pledgeometer.net/EventPage or www.eventsmap.nas.apprenticeships.org.uk/

Give your business the Give your business the competitive edge, take competitive edge, take on an Apprentice with on an Apprentice with Middlesbrough Middlesbrough College College Why Middlesbrough College?

Why Middlesbrough College?

Middlesbrough College are working with more businesses Middlesbrough College in aremore working withand more businesses employing Apprentices sectors at more skill employing Apprentices in more at more skill levels than ever before. We offer sectors fantasticand facilities, expert levels before.support We offer expert tuitionthan and ever dedicated tofantastic help youfacilities, source the right tuition and dedicated support to help you source the right Apprentice and the right training programme.

Apprentice and the right training programme.

Apprenticeships we offer include: Apprenticeships we offer include: Engineering Sport & Exercise Sport Engineering Business & Professional STEM & Exercise STEM Business & Professional Construction Travel & Tourism Construction Travel & Tourism Health & Care Warehousing & Storage Health & Care Warehousing & Storage IT & Computing Waste Management IT & Computing Waste Management Welding Motor Vehicle Motor Welding ProcessVehicle Operations And many more!

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Call our Industry and Community Partnerships Team today on Call our Industry Community Team today on 01642and 333322 • Email:Partnerships icp@mbro.ac.uk 01642 333322 • Email: icp@mbro.ac.uk www.mbro.ac.uk Future proof your business www.mbro.ac.uk

“Finding the right training provider is crucial, and in Sunderland College we have found a partner that is equipping us with well-rounded, multi-skilled employees who add a huge amount of value to our business.�

Bette Huitson, HR team co-ordinator and apprentice lead at UKAR

Sunderland College is forging relationships with industry that are ensuring employers across the North East are powered-up with work-ready people who will grow with the company.

Financial services giant UKAR has taken on 32 apprentices from Sunderland College, and is one of a growing number of companies in the financial, professional and business services sector that is tapping into the exceptional standard of teaching and support it offers.

To find our more call 0191 511 6000 or email employers@sunderlandcollege.ac.uk