TEES VALLEY SKILLS NEWSLETTER Alexandra Hawkes, a 21 year old from Stockton-on-Tees, is helping to deliver over £32,500,000 worth of Tees Valley Business Compass Projects which are funde
Trang 1TEES VALLEY SKILLS NEWSLETTER
Alexandra Hawkes, a 21 year old from Stockton-on-Tees, is helping to deliver over £32,500,000 worth of Tees Valley Business Compass Projects which are funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), in her new role as ERDF Business Compass Administration Support Officer at Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA)
Alex started at TVCA as an Apprentice Enterprise Assistant in February
2016 as part of her Level 2 Business Administration apprenticeship, supported by Stockton Learning and Skills.
“At the end of my education I wasn’t sure which path to take, however I decided that I wanted to work in a business environment so a Business Administration apprenticeship seemed like a good idea The whole process was easy and within a few weeks of working for TVCA I knew this is what I wanted to
do
“Before I started my apprenticeship I had communication issues, but I feel
like I really received the support and confidence I needed from TVCA to improve When the full time position came up I felt like I had the confidence and experience to go for it and doing the apprenticeship has made this adjustment
to full time work so much easier.”
Alex’s new line manager Lesley Short said “Alex is a valued member of our team; she is very enthusiastic, willing
to learn new skills and always keen to help.”
The apprentice vacancy left by Alex has recently been filled by 19 year old Ameer Khan from Middlesbrough, who is
completing
a level 3 apprentice
in Business Administration
Apprentice progresses at Tees Valley Combined Authority
W e l c o m e
Welcome to issue 13 of the Tees Valley
Skills Newsletter, produced by Tees
Valley Combined Authority This issue
is a special edition focused exclusively
on apprenticeships across all industry
sectors.
Apprenticeships are a great opportunity to
work for a real employer and gain practical,
workplace skills An apprentice earns a real
salary, gains real qualifications as well as
invaluable experience
Apprenticeships are available across all
industries and there are three levels of
apprenticeships:
• Intermediate level – equivalent to a
level 2 (GCSE) qualification;
• Advanced level – equivalent to a level 3
(A-level) qualification; and
• Higher/degree apprenticeships –
equivalent to a level 4-7 qualification
(Diploma of higher education to
Master’s Degree)
Once an apprenticeship is complete, the
apprentice can go into employment, a
further apprenticeship or university More
information is available at
www.apprenticeships.gov.uk
This newsletter supports the Tees Valley
Skills website – for regular updates please
visit www.teesvalley-ca.gov.uk/skills
ISSUE: 13
Tees Valley college helps tackle skills shortage
Redcar & Cleveland College is helping
a North Yorkshire care provider tackle
a chronic skills shortage in the care industry Sixteen apprentices from Redcar
& Cleveland College were hired to work
at the Abbey Care Village in Scorton near Richmond, with eight of the students working towards a Level 2 qualification in Health & Social Care, seven studying for a Level 3 Diploma in the same subject and another student nearing completion of a Level 3 Diploma in Hospitality.
Following that boost, the college announced it was supplying another batch
of apprentices to the care village, which had previously struggled to find workers with the requisite skills Fifteen students embarked on a Level 2 qualification in social care while gaining valuable work experience at the company, which provides residential care, nursing care, a mental health support service, a respite service for carers and support for people with learning disabilities
The partnership comes as the care industry battles to overcome a crippling skills shortage Figures from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills show that up
to two million more workers will need to
be trained and recruited by 2022 to meet national demand – more than half the current care workforce
Shirley Leighton, training manager at Abbey Care Village, said: “It’s no secret that we need new talent coming into the industry, not just young apprentices but also older workers with the necessary skills and experience Our partnership with Redcar & Cleveland College is helping us to tackle the issue head on.”
The partnership also highlights the college’s commitment to adult apprenticeships All fifteen of the second tranche of apprentices are over the age of
24, as are the seven Level 3 Health & Social Care students from the first batch
For further information, please call
01642 473132 or visit www.cleveland.ac.uk
Trang 2National hospitality training provider, HIT Training, is working with Stokesley-based Chapters Deli, Bistro & Wine Bar to be among the first in the county to deliver the new apprenticeship standards for Commis Chefs.
The standards, which came into effect from 1st August 2016 focus on an end assessment, which the apprentice works towards and prepares for, over the 12 months of the programme and were developed by the Apprenticeship Trailblazer Group
Speaking about the company’s decision to implement the new standards, Jane Ablett, one
of the owners, at Chapters
Deli commented, ‘When we first approached HIT Training about taking on an apprentice,
it was interesting to learn how the new standards had many benefits, especially in encouraging talent levels which will enable us to offer greater flexibility in how we develop our apprentice We can decide exactly what training and development techniques
to use to help Katie, our apprentice, grow and this will
be overseen by HIT Training” HIT Training is a specialist national training and apprenticeship provider for the hospitality and catering sector For more information on HIT Training, please visit:
www.hittraining.co.uk
ISSUE: 13 | FOCUS ON apprenticeships
Beth, from Darlington, says she owes her burgeoning career in logistics to a good grounding at Middlesbrough College
Beth won a place
as an apprentice with Cobra Middlesbrough Ltd, a Road/
Rail Terminal based in the old Middlesbrough Goods Yard Beth and her two fellow colleagues, weigh all the lorries in and out of the North Road site, after the college fixed her up with a work placement there
She said: “When I left school I did a few different things, but then I saw the NVQ course in logistics at the college and thought it looked interesting
As part of the course, they arranged the work placement for me – and I really enjoyed
it My work includes waving wagons on and off the weighbridge, handling invoices, logging orders and handling other kinds of admin.”
Cobra liked Beth too, and took her on She’s now starting an 18-month apprenticeship with the company, and returns to the college one day a week
as part of it Geoff Robinson, operations director at Cobra, said: “Beth is like a breath of fresh air She is full of
enthusiasm and learning more skills every day We look forward to her taking on more responsibilities in the future” Beth is studying IT level 2 and Supply Chain level 2 at the college, and says she loves it there “I’d 100% recommend other young people – they treat you like an adult and help you all the way through,” she said
College principal and chief executive Zoe Lewis said
“Beth is a good example of
a student who is following the apprenticeship route into an excellent career”
For more information
on apprenticeships at Middlesbrough College please
visit www.mbro.ac.uk
Apprenticeships
Figures released from the
Skills Funding Agency in
December 2016 show that the
number of Tees Valley residents
starting an apprenticeship is on
the rise compared to last year
Around 9,920 people living
in Tees Valley started an
apprenticeship in 2015/16
compared to 8,840 people in
2014/15, an increase of 1,060
people or 12% This compares
to a 2% rise nationally
Apprenticeship starts are much
higher in Tees Valley than
nationally; 6.2% of 16-35 year
olds started an apprenticeship
in 2015/16 compared to 3.5%
nationally
Job Vacancies
In 2016 there were over 28,870
job vacancies based in Tees
Valley advertised online, a
12% increase on 2015, with
a large rise in the number of
advertisements for secondary
school teachers, care workers
and dentists
Emerging Skills Needs of Tees Valley
The UK Commission for Employment and Skills Working Futures model predicts that there will be 133,000 job opportunities in Tees Valley between 2014 and 2024 13%
of these are projected to be new job opportunities and the remaining 87% replacement jobs from those who will leave the workforce There is an increasing need for higher level skills with over half of the overall job opportunities and 90% of the new job opportunities requiring a level 4 or above qualification
However there will still be a need for intermediate and lower level skills, particularly in replacement jobs
For more information or to view other research reports please visit https://teesvalley-ca.gov.
uk/partners-portal/
Apprentice Beth weighs in
with wagon-loads of talent
Embracing the new apprenticeship standards
in the North East Research Round Up
Seventeen-year-old Beth Carwardine is showing she’s no
lightweight when it comes to tackling an apprenticeship –
because she weighs wagons for a living.
Trang 3You’re hired!
It proved to be lucky for some as 13 young apprentices were hired by a major UK employer.
The Student Loans Company (SLC), Darlington, gave the Darlington College apprentices the opportunity to step onto the career ladder after learning the ropes of customer services and administrative work at its offices at Lingfield Point Apprentices also gained NVQ qualifications in business administration through Darlington College
SLC team leader Tanya Greenall said: “This is the first time
we have taken in a cohort of business and administration students from Darlington College and we are delighted to have been able to offer each one of them a full-time position following their successful apprenticeships We were looking for young people with a good work ethic, who wanted to learn, work and study at the same time and who were willing and flexible The standard of all the college apprentices was particularly high They integrated into the company extremely well, produced a high standard of work and have all become very valuable members of our team.”
Alongside studying for their qualifications at college, the
january 2017
Hard work and dedication pays off!
Coming from a family of accountants, 20-year-old Kashif Farooq has always had a flair for maths and therefore, not surprisingly, wanted to work in the money management business.
Starting his career journey with a level 2 apprenticeship through Stockton Riverside College Kashif soon impressed his bosses
at Datum Ltd Now he has successfully
progressed to a Level 4 apprenticeship – which means working towards the equivalent of a foundation degree, while avoiding racking up any university debt
“I enjoy mixing theory with practical experience,” he said “This way I get the opportunity to put into practice what I have learnt at college.”
He admits that avoiding student fees was one of the many reasons he opted for
an apprenticeship The future is looking bright for Kashif who is already planning
to move on to his Level 5 apprenticeship, taking him another step closer to his dream of becoming a Chartered Accountant
For more information visit www.stockton ac.uk/courses/apprenticeships/
Liam Hanson (21) is one of the leading lights to come through Hartlepool College of Further Education in recent years
“My dad was a welder, one of my grandads was a senior contracts manager and the other was a steel erector,” said Liam
“I think it just grabbed me, and from a very early age I wanted to follow that
on I did think about going to university
at one stage, but when I was 16 I went
to Hartlepool College of FE and did a BTEC Level 3 in Construction & Built Environment
“On the last year of my course, my tutor told me about an apprenticeship scheme that Hartlepool Council were running in civil engineering I fancied it, and thought I had nothing to lose.”
Suited and booted, Liam went for an interview at the Civic Centre and made
such an impression that he was offered the job just half an hour later “I think they could see how keen I was to be honest,” he added
Liam’s first role saw him working with the street lighting team, and he was then moved onto the customer services team where he improved his communications skills by dealing with various complaints from residents
He added: “Once I’d learned that side of the job, I was back out getting involved with lighting problems and the installation
of the LED street lights I learned as I went along but I had a greater understanding
of it and was allowed to coordinate jobs for contractors I’m on the top wage for
an apprentice now; I’m earning more than
£1,000 a month.”
Liam will complete his apprenticeship
in December, but has opted to take on a
two-year extension which will take him to
a higher level Having already pocketed NVQ levels 3 and 4 in civil engineering, he
is working on an NVQ Level 5 at Hartlepool College and an HND Level 5 – both in civil engineering – at Durham College
“My overall target is to be a supervisor, then progress to be a manager I want to lead rather than be led, I always aspire to
go higher,” said Liam
apprentices duties included mail handling, batching and scanning
of loan applications, evidence returns, data entry and identity verification
Amy Wilson, 19, of Darlington, said: “Working for the SLC really appealed to me It is a large company in Darlington where I knew I could develop my career
Being an apprentice meant that I could learn in a real working
environment, earning while I was learning and get my qualifications
at the same time I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of my apprenticeship and I’m delighted
to have been offered a full-time job.”
For more information on opportunities at Darlington College visit
www.darlington.ac.uk Liam’s a bright light after choosing the apprenticeship path
Embracing the new
apprenticeship standards
in the North East
Trang 4ISSUE: 13 | FOCUS ON apprenticeships
tees valley skills newsletter
Stockton-based global transport
payment company, Cubic
Transportation Systems (CTS), is
set to create around 80 jobs over
the next 12 months The company
design and create payment
systems that make travelling on
public transport easier There are more than 24 billion transactions processed using Cubic software every year CTS already employs
120 staff at the Stockton site, with around half of those engineers
National gym operator Xercise4Less is set to open a new gym in
Hartlepool before Christmas Forty jobs will be created at the site
above H&M in the Middleton Grange Shopping Centre.
Calysta, the US sustainability firm, has opened a new factory in Redcar
& Cleveland The plant has been built next to a national biotech facility run by the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) and is the first step in
a £30m investment by Calysta over ten years to develop its FeedKind product, ready for market The protein is a new fish and animal feed ingredient targeted at replacing fishmeal and is produced using the world’s only commercially validated gas fermentation process The plant is set to become fully operational soon and is expected to provide employment for between 35 and 40 people The new jobs are in science, engineering and operations - with additional indirect jobs in construction and the wider supply chain
Crystal Galleries, the Middlesbrough-based family business, is
expanding and creating jobs after securing a five-figure funding boost The firm supplies glass and crystal for decorative products and has created eight new jobs after securing a £67,000 investment from the Tees Valley Business Compass Capital Grant Scheme
tees valley skills newsletter
We value your feedback To comment about this newsletter
or to receive this newsletter electronically please e-mail:
info@teesvalley-ca.gov.uk | Tel: 01642 524469
Did you know you can get free impartial apprenticeship information,
advice and guidance in your school? The Tees Valley Learner
Provider Network are part of the Apprenticeship Support and
Knowledge for Schools project The project aim is to work with
teachers, careers advisers, parents and governors, alongside other
key partners, to support schools and ensure that they meet their
statutory duties regarding the provision of impartial IAG, specifically
in relation to apprenticeships and traineeships.
Services offered include:
• Group assemblies / information sessions
• Sessions to sign students up to “Find an Apprenticeship”
• Apprenticeship application workshops for smaller groups of
students
• Apprenticeship events
• Apprenticeship champion training for careers advisers and teachers
• Guest speakers – apprentice and employer ambassadors
• External visits
• Staff (teacher and governor) CPD
• Parents events
To find out more contact Jo Thompson at
Jo.Thompson@tvwbl.net or ring 01642 442025.
Who’s Recruiting
⁄teesvalleyskills
@Gettheskills
⁄teesvalleyskills
Linked In
⁄company⁄teesvalleyskills
@Gettheskills Facebook⁄teesvalleyskills
Linked In
⁄company⁄teesvalleyskills
@Gettheskills
4
The Tees Valley Apprenticeship Hub is your one stop shop to find
out all you need to know about apprenticeships The hub features
general facts about apprenticeships including:
• The levels of apprenticeship that can be followed;
• What an apprenticeship entails;
• A parent’s guide to apprenticeships;
• Links to the national ‘Get in Go Far’ website; and
• Various apprenticeship resources
The Tees Valley Apprenticeship Hub also hosts live apprenticeship vacancies within the Tees Valley, all available for you to apply to It also provides you with information
on Higher and Degree Level Apprenticeships through the ‘Tees Valley E-prospectus’, helping you to find out who’s offering these apprenticeships in Tees Valley
The Apprenticeship Hub can be accessed at:
www.teesvalley-ca.gov.uk/apprenticeship-hub
TVCA Apprenticeship Hub
Free impartial apprenticeship IAG for your school!