The BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST Apprenticeship Event, Yet!

This year’s Big Apprenticeship Event at Hartlepool College of Further Education marked the 11th year in a row that the College has held an Open Apprenticeship event. This year saw 73 exhibitors sign up for the event to give expert information, advice and guidance on apprenticeships within their organisations and the sectors they operate in.  As always with this flagship event, 2000 visitors walked through the College’s doors to speak to those organisations in attendance.

Assistant Principal, Gary Riches said “I know I say this every year, which is pleasing that I can, but the event was the biggest and best yet. Looking at where we have come from; the very first apprenticeship event which we hosted in 2012 with around 25 exhibitors to now having over 70, it just shows how it is important to the College’s employer-partners to attend these events too. We are constantly hearing about skills gaps in every industry and apprenticeships are the best way to close those gaps. If anyone ever tells you that further education colleges don’t talk to industry to help meet their needs and demands, then just look at the College’s Big Apprenticeship Event and you’ll see just how wrong they are. It was really pleasing to speak to both visitors and organisations at the event and hear them say just how beneficial it was to both parties.  My focus is now on how we go even bigger next year…”

We were pleased to have so many employers in attendance, giving the college and the event high praise across our social media channels post-event, just one brilliant example was from Jessica Williams ~ Founder and Managing Director of Just Williams "This event is the epitome of collaboration - of bridging the gap between academia and business of working together, creating a truly engaged region and developing a solution for the skills gap and recruitment issues we all face. The determination of the team to deliver such an event, with such engagement is just incredible and we are so fortunate to have such a forward-thinking college in our region.

The event also saw over 100 attendees sign-up for the National Apprenticeship Service so they can receive alerts on any apprenticeship vacancies, and scheduled apprenticeship awareness sessions to find out what an apprenticeship looks like including rates of pay, etc.

To capture the essence of the event, check out our social media for videos and posts, you can also view the dedicated gallery of over 100 photos here >> https://www.flickr.com/photos/hartlepoolfe/albums/72177720305907917