City College Plymouth Workbase Sept 2014 by City College Plymouth

WORKBASE

THE WORK-BASED LEARNING AND SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIPS NEWSLETTER І AUTUMN 2014

Following the success of our first ghost hunt in February, we organised a second sponsored charity ghost hunt at Picquet Barracks, in aid of the College’s nominated charity, St Luke’s Hospice.

Steve Murphy, Operations Manager, said: “We had an excellent couple of paranormal evenings with some really strange experiences and most people smelling the sweet tobacco smell in the old navy gym.

The event was held on Friday 28 March and was run by Supernatural Investigations (UK). The night went extremely well with bumps, groans and unexplained lights and voices, all experienced during the night!

“We are all really pleased to have raised so much money and, as there are more questions than answers, we will be looking at carrying out further investigations.”

“The evening finished with the team trying to explain the appearance of a light in an office which, on first check was locked, but on a second check was unlocked. The door could not be locked as there was not a key on site!

The two events surpassed all expectations and raised a fantastic £1,173 towards the excellent work carried out by St Luke’s Hospice. A cheque was presented to Lorna Damella, Corporate Fundraiser for St Luke’s Hospice on a recent visit to the College.

If you would find it easier to read this newsletter in larger type or a different format, please telephone 01752 305300 or e-mail info@cityplym.ac.uk.

Good News Story â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Plymouth Apprenticeship Company Limited â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Apprenticeships With a Difference!

Katie Brown

Katie Brown working at Nazareth House

Katie Brown is an apprentice employed by the Plymouth Apprenticeship Company Ltd. The Company is an Apprenticeship training agency set up by Plymouth City Council and City College Plymouth to support the growth of smaller businesses and help young people into sustainable employment.

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Katie is currently working at Nazareth House in Plymouth, which is operated by the Catholic Congregation Sisters of Nazareth, offering vulnerable people a secure and healthy residence in which they feel respected and comfortable on a daily basis. Service users can expect a thoroughly refurbished and renovated accommodation that is staffed by a professional team, with strong community links and regular visits by GPs. Katie, 19, spent two years working towards gaining A Levels at both Stoke Damerel Community College and City College. However, after

two attempts, she failed to get the grades. This left her with low self-esteem and wondering what her next step could be. Katie then managed to secure employment, but after a year she was left jobless, and claiming Jobseekers Allowance was not helping as it made her feel unmotivated and she was lacking the support to gain employment. In the meantime, she was contacted by the College to discuss the possibility of becoming an apprentice with the Plymouth Apprenticeship Company. This proved to be a huge benefit to Katie as she was offered a Business Administration Apprenticeship with Nazareth House.

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Katie said: “I love working at Nazareth House and have never worked anywhere like it. I came to my interview with blue hair and was seriously wondering if they would see past this and take a chance on giving me an Apprenticeship, but thankfully they did!” Katie plans to stay at Nazareth House until the end of her Apprenticeship and hopes they may consider offering her permanent employment in the future. Her line manager, Gary, said: “Katie has settled in well here at Nazareth House, she is enthusiastic and motivated and is more or less up to speed with the duties of our receptionists. “She is a quick learner and is confident in her role. The next stage will be to introduce and train her in the duties involved with the full administration of the home.”

The Plymouth Apprenticeship Company Limited (PAC Ltd) is a multi-sector Apprenticeship training agency, established to make it easier for small businesses to create valuable Apprenticeship opportunities for Plymouth’s young people. Apprenticeships are widely accepted as an excellent way of developing the right skills and experience within an organisations’ workforce. However, smaller businesses often find the financial investment of taking on an apprentice too much, or believe they cannot provide the experience for a full-time apprentice position. With PAC Ltd the apprentice is employed by the Company and then placed with an appropriate employer. Potentially, an apprentice could have more than one employer enabling them to complete a full Apprenticeship framework (technical

qualifications and key skills) either simultaneously or one after the other. The Company employs and pays the apprentice, taxes and NI contributions; they arrange relevant training with a local approved training agency and support the apprentice and employer(s) through the Apprenticeship. In return, the host company offering the placements pays PAC Ltd an agreed weekly fee. For more information about how the Plymouth Apprenticeship Company can help you and your business, please contact Christopher Hall on 01752 305300, e-mail chall2@cityplym.ac.uk or visit www.cityplym.ac.uk/PAC.

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Good News Story â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Centenary Apprenticeship Challenge

Babcock apprentices at Ford Park Cemetery

The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) has launched the Centenary Apprenticeship Challenge. The Challenge provides young people with the unique opportunity to commemorate the 100 years since the start of World War One by working with their local communities to acquire

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and showcase the broad set of work skills that are valuable and relevant today. A team of ten apprentices from Babcock International Group PLC and five from Princess Yachts International volunteered at Ford Park Cemetery to restore the area around war graves. Ford Park Cemetery is a 34-acre site in the heart of Plymouth, which is run by the Ford Park Cemetery Trust. The Trust employs three members of staff to maintain the site, however due to the sheer size of the Cemetery many areas are unattended for large periods of time.

The apprentices worked hard to restore the graves by removing ivy and clearing ground around the graves. Two apprentices uncovered a four to five foot cross and a grave containing five members of the same family, which was unrecognisable under a mound of ground and ivy! The apprenticesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; employers had nominated them to get involved in the challenge to promote community involvement.

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Good News Story – Princess Yachts Apprentices Build Educational Forts for Burraton Primary School

Boat outfitting apprentices helped Burraton Primary School in Saltash build educational forts

Burraton Primary had been looking to have four educational forts built for a while and secured some funding to enable it to happen. They approached the College to see whether there was a possibility of the students helping with the build.

The apprentices, who work for Princess Yachts International, built two forts onsite at Kings Road as part of their personal, listening and thinking skills project under the expert guidance of tutor, Stephen Caunter. The forts were then taken apart, transported to Saltash and assembled at the school. Apprentice, Thomas Soper, 19, said: “The project helped us to develop our teamwork, communication and planning skills. It gave us the opportunity to broaden our carpentry skills, as well as helping out members of the community.”

Head Teacher at Burraton Primary, Lisa Tamblyn, said: “We are thrilled to be working with the students. Having been generously supported by local business Bond Timber and the students and staff of City College, we are now able to provide our young children with an exciting new dimension to the classrooms, which is going to significantly enhance their learning environment.”

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Babcock Charity Event

Babcock apprentices charity event

At the start of the academic year, Gerry Knight, Industrial Skills Manager at Babcock International Group had the idea of asking all of the first year apprentices from the electrical, mechanical and fabrication trade groups if they would like to participate in a charity event.

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The response was fantastic â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 69 Babcock apprentices and a few from other companies took part in raising money for the Bobby Moore cancer fund. By donating a small amount of money, each of the apprentices was allowed to wear a sports jersey/shirt of their choice for the day to show their support. The apprentices raised a total of ÂŁ198 for the charity.

City College Plymouth wishes to congratulate all those that took part to help raise money for this worthwhile charity.

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Prince’s Trust Team Round-Up

Continued...

Prince’s Trust Team onesie walk

Team 207 headed to the beaches at Wembury, Jennycliff, Bovisand and Mount Batten to pick up litter and debris that had been washed ashore in the winter storms. Robert Pickup, who was the assistant team leader for Team 207, said: “The team did a fantastic job and raised in the region of £250 for St Luke’s Hospice. “Young people from disadvantaged groups have often been given a negative stereotype within the community. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working

alongside them on the team programme and sharing some extremely positive achievements.” The Work-based Learning department thanks Daniel Payne (Team Leader) and Team 207 for all their hard work in making our home surroundings return to the standard that we all know and love. Team 207 also got involved with Seymour House for their team challenge. Seymour House offers services for children and young people aged five to 19 from across Plymouth. They work to help young people develop their capabilities and make positive life choices. The team provided a week of fun activities for the children, including a

sports day, baking, family picnic and junk band. Tina Hobbs of Seymour House said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to you and your team for all the hard work you put into the half term activities. It was brilliant to see the enthusiasm of your team and the hard work which enabled them to engage the children in the variety of activities, which you planned. The children and their families thoroughly enjoyed the week and we are really grateful for all your input.” Well done to Team 207 for their continuous commitment to organising and delivering these activities.

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Congratulations ... … to apprentices who have achieved their Apprenticeships between 22 June 2013 and 24 November 2013 Student

Apprenticeship

Employer

Student

Apprenticeship

Employer

Thomas Hampton

Marine Engineering

Babcock International Group

Mollie Elliott

Beauty Therapy

Beauty Within

Harry Gray

Marine Engineering

Babcock International Group

Jason Barnard

Food Production and Cooking

Blackdown Nursing Home

James Horne

Marine Engineering

Babcock International Group

Ashton Bond

Electrical Installation

Bonnet Electrical

Lewis Russell

Marine Engineering

Babcock International Group

Megan Howe

Food and Beverage Service

Boringdon Hall Hotel

Matthew Yates

Marine Engineering

Babcock International Group

Danielle Squires

Hairdressing

Bowlers Hair and Beauty

Shaun Agnew

Marine Engineering

Babcock International Group

Samuel Evans

Professional Cookery

Browns Hotel

Scott Lafford

Marine Engineering

Babcock International Group

Rebekah King

Hospitality Services

Buckland Tout Saints

Ben Targett

Marine Engineering

Babcock International Group

Lewis Garlick

Fabrication and Welding

C & L Marine Ltd

Ashley Woolley

Marine Engineering

Babcock International Group

Thomas Davis

Electrical Installation

C L Electrical Solutions Ltd

Clive Reed

Management

Babcock International Group

Matthew Punder

Fabrication and Welding

C. Millar & Son Fabrication

Kathryn Curtis