Bournemouth & Poole College celebrates apprentices after huge spike in enrolment compared to national average

Bournemouth & Poole College hosted its annual Apprentices of the Year Awards, celebrating the hard work of its students from the past year.

The event took place at the RNLI College in Poole and saw 15 apprentices across a wealth of sectors receive accolades for their efforts over the last year.

Bournemouth & Poole College is the largest apprenticeship provider in the area and experienced an exceptional past year for enrolment. From August-October 2021, The College saw a 117 percent increase year-on-year, when the national average was 43 percent.

In addition to this spike in apprenticeship enrolments in 2021, 52 percent of apprentices at Bournemouth & Poole College are in the 16-18 age bracket, whereas nationally the average was 30.8 percent.

Matt Butcher, Commercial Director at Bournemouth & Poole College, said: “We are incredibly proud of the environment curated for our apprentices here at The College, and our award recipients are testament to that. We do not take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to our recruitment, we work with both the employer and candidate to ensure we maximise the chance of a perfect match. Many of our ex-apprentices are now self-employed, in senior management and progressing steadily in their chosen careers.

“Our increase in enrolments over the past year, especially within 16-18 year-olds, is wonderful to see and we are delighted that more young people are considering an apprenticeship as an alternative to higher education. We hope this trend will continue and we have the opportunity to help pave the way for many more into their dream careers.”

Among the winners of the Apprentices of the Year award was Lloyd Bleese, who received a Distinction in his Level 5 HR apprenticeship and now works full-time for Dorset Police. Lloyd is now mentoring another apprentice who has recently begun the course.

Lloyd said: “I had such an enjoyable time while completing my apprenticeship and I’m so pleased to have won this award. I would recommend an apprenticeship to anyone who is weighing up their options – I learned so much and am so grateful to have been offered a full-time position at the end of it.”

Charlie Sansome received an Apprentices of the Year award for her work at Cobham, in a Level 3 Engineering course as Technician Support. Charlie was given the accolade due to her extremely high standard of work, her ‘can do’ attitude and positive approach.

Charlie said: “I always thought that engineering was the route for me when I was in school, so I completed some work experience at Cobham and decided to go for an apprenticeship. I like the freedom you get whilst still being in education, and it’s great to apply skills you learnt at college, in the workplace.

Another award recipient was Ben Lusted, who has completed a Level 3 Business Administration course at Caterpillar Marine Power, a long-standing employer of The College. Ben has thrived in his role and has become a vital team member with high responsibility and projects of his own and completed the apprenticeship with a Distinction.

Ben said: “I chose this apprenticeship because I thought it would teach me lots of transferrable skills not only for this job, but also for any future endeavours.  I would highly recommend an apprenticeship for anyone that is looking to take the next step in their career.”

For more information on Bournemouth & Poole College, please visit www.thecollege.co.uk