The Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP) encouraged businesses, training providers and members of the LEP team to become an apprentice for the day, and gain a new insight into the positive impact that these schemes have on individuals and companies.
In Cambridge, Back 2 the Floor placements included IT, Engineering, and Marketing apprenticeships in addition to a National Trust Traineeship scheme. Everyone from the LEP’s Chairman and Chief Executive to members of the LEP’s team got involved.
Bango plc, a mobile payments company, welcomed LEP Chairman and local businessman Mark Reeve as an IT Systems and Networking apprentice. Mark joined Tanya, one of Bango’s apprentices, and spent the morning learning about the running of the Bango Payment Platform which is used by the world’s leading app stores for carrier billing.
Mark Reeve, Chairman of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP, said:
“Going back to the floor has been a very positive experience. Bango are an exemplar provider of IT apprenticeships and the way they deal with their apprentices is admirable.
“Apprenticeships are highly important to the LEP as they provide a key alternative to University education. Vocational placements get people into the workplace faster and provide businesses with a workforce who have the skills for that industry. Bango’s apprenticeship programme is great for Cambridge and great for the IT sector.”
David Keeling, COO at Bango, added:
“Apprenticeships provide a great means for Bango to attract and develop ambitious individuals who deliver significant value to the business. Unlike graduates, apprentices quickly gain valuable work experience coupled with academic learning which can be applied in their day to day work. Given the success Bango has achieved with its IT apprenticeship program, we’ve now extended it to wider parts of the business.
“We were pleased to have Mark Reeve, Chairman of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP, join us at Bango as part of the Back 2 the Floor campaign. We wanted to give him an insight into the life of a Bango apprentice. Knowing that Mark began his working life as an apprentice, was a real inspiration for our apprentices.”
(Image removed)LEP Chief Executive Neil Darwin became an Engineering apprentice at Marshall AeroAcademy for the day. Joining the current cohort of Engineering apprentices, Neil was given a tour of the site and gained hands-on experience of the job by being shown how to drive rivets into metal.
Neil Darwin, Chief Executive of the LEP, commented:
“Apprenticeships are a vital part of the local skills landscape, and have a symbiotic fit with the LEP’s overall skills strategy. Being able to go Back 2 the Floor has provided both me and other members of the team with a far better insight into the world of apprenticeships.
“I would recommend that even more businesses join us in going Back 2 the Floor next year to gain a new perspective on how we can all help to train the workforce of the future.”
Pam Lord, Team Leader for Education at Marshall AeroAcademy, said:
“Marshall ADG was delighted to show Neil Darwin the innovative work undertaken in our Company, and to give him a taste of our engineering apprenticeship programme.
“Some of our apprentices have come straight from school, others from sixth form colleges and some will undertake a degree after joining us. Our Company thrives on a steady stream of highly skilled ‘home-grown’ staff who have come through this programme. Many are undertaking complex engineering work as aircraft fitters or designers, and many have been promoted over the years to senior management and director level.”
Finally, the LEP’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Project Facilitator Steven Wilson, went Back 2 the Floor as a National Trust apprentice at Anglesey Abbey. Joining Richard Burlingham (National Trust Volunteering and Community Involvement Consultant) and Mike Oakes (currently on the Volunteering Management Traineeship Scheme at Melford Hall), Steven went Back 2 the Floor as a Mill Steward, learning the history of Lode Mill and the process of how the Flour is made and sold.
Steven also found out about the recruitment process of apprentices and volunteer managers as the National Trust are currently advertising for a Volunteer Management Trainee, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund Skills for Future programme.
Steven Wilson, ERDF Facilitator for the LEP, added:
(Image removed)“It’s been great fun going Back 2 the Floor at Anglesey Abbey. The surroundings are beautiful and enthusiasm of the volunteer co-ordinators has been fantastic. I would thoroughly recommend getting involved with the National Trust’s apprenticeship and voluntary programmes.”
Mark, Neil and Steven were three of many people from local businesses and colleges who went Back 2 the Floor thanks to the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP.
Apprenticeships are a vital part of the local skills landscape, and have a symbiotic fit with the LEP’s overall skills strategy, which aims to:
- Raise aspirations – We want our young people to be aware of the apprenticeship opportunities available in their local area and aspire to them;
- Change opinions – Our businesses need to see apprenticeships as part of their business model. Skilled employees can drive growth, and apprentices can help to create the skilled workforce of the future;
- Ensure the training sector is ready to respond – Although apprenticeships are business-led, it is important that we gather the right information to allow the training sector to be prepared for future demand.
You can find out more about the Back 2 the Floor campaign by visiting www.gcgp.co.uk