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Mick's experience helping the next generation of Apprentices

Michael Casey - Head of School of Engineering (HCFE)

A leading college lecturer doesn’t need to be told about the benefits of following the apprenticeship route into work having taken the exact same steps himself after leaving school. Mick Casey is Head of the Engineering School at Hartlepool College of Further Education, and after leaving English Martyrs School with “average” grades before going to College. The 43-year-old now finds himself on the other side of the desk, helping to develop the next generation.

He said: “I served my apprenticeship with Tees & Hartlepool Port Authority as a maintenance fitter, and I came to Hartlepool College to do my ONC/HNC. I also did evening classes in hydraulics and pneumatics after the apprenticeship came to an end as I just had the opinion that the more I learned, the more I’d progress. I knew when I left school that I wanted to be an electrician, but apprenticeships were hard to get. There was an assumption that engineering was all about overalls, and not being in a shirt and tie and travelling around the world. That has changed now, and schools are gearing students up around STEM subjects and getting the information out that this is a well-paid job and a real career to consider.”

Mick says he has noticed a change in attitude towards apprenticeship options in the last five years, but stresses it is wrong to claim that students have to make a straight choice between an apprenticeship or university when they leave school.

“That’s not the case,” he added. “Students can go on to do a degree when they are finished their apprenticeship. There’s no age limit or anything like that. There has been a shift in attitude, people want to earn while they learn rather than be saddled with a debt. An apprenticeship can be a route towards a degree, and I think over the next five years more people will start to realise that. The calibre of students is higher than ever. There was a drop in apprenticeships in the 1990s, people lost faith in them. But with a predicted growth in engineering, new recruits will be needed. People in jobs will retire, there needs to be a new generation coming through. As well as working with the students, Mick has close relationships with the employers that offer apprenticeship opportunities to youngsters at Hartlepool College.

He said: “We have more than 1,000 students, and in excess of 300 of them are apprentices in engineering. Industry has a far bigger say now, and companies dictate what they want. For a long time, companies haven’t put their money where their mouths are. They haven’t invested in youth training, and that is why there is a skills gap. They’re gradually starting to see the benefits now. Packages are in place to encourage them to take on apprentices, and as those vacancies grow, so too will the apprentices coming through. The apprenticeship route has changed since I came through it, and I’m confident it will continue to get better in the years to come because there are more and more opportunities opening up all of the time.”

SEE The Difference with Apprenticeships at Hartlepool College

For more information about Hartlepool College of Further Education, call the Apprenticeship Administrators on 01429 404073 or email: apprenticeships@hartlepoolfe.ac.uk

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