•Hundreds of young people and companies welcomed at CONEL for National Apprenticeship Week
•Renewed focus on apprenticeships as a means for all to find employment, across industries
•Projects such as Meridian Water provide the perfect springboard for apprentices
National Apprenticeship Week in Enfield is celebrating the success of apprenticeships over the last decade and encouraging more people to choose this route to get into meaningful employment at all levels.
This year marks the tenth time the event has been held and is fully supported by Enfield Council which stands behind all young people with the ambition to take up apprenticeships.
The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL) is welcoming hundreds of young people and employers from across the borough throughout the week as well as Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration & Business, Cllr Alan Sitkin, who had an opportunity to meet some of the college’s enthusiastic students and companies keen on finding out more on Tuesday 7 March.
He also spoke in a breakfast briefing, attended by companies such as Newlon Housing Trust, VolkerFitzpatrick and HR Sports Academy, where he was able to address the opportunities available to apprentices and companies in Enfield.
Cllr Sitkin said: “There is a huge array of apprenticeships available at our further education colleges in Enfield.
“The benefits to Enfield-based employers is that you have access to some of the finest young people in the borough and can train them in the specific skills your organisation needs. Giving a placement to an apprentice delivers real benefits such as lowering training and recruitment costs, maintaining high standards and developing the future of your company.
“There are some major growth sectors in Enfield – smart technology for example, construction, and the ground-breaking Meridian Water project – and we back any young person’s ambition to get involved in an apprenticeship.”
The £6 billion Meridian Water project alone will require 10,000 construction jobs to help create and complete it and Councillor Sitkin highlighted that apprentices will undoubtedly be part of the success story of this venture.
CONEL, which has over 30 years’ experience in running apprenticeships, currently works with around 370 employers and more than 1,000 apprentices.
Apprenticeships Week at the college is jam-packed with exciting events, including a big finale at both the Enfield and Tottenham sites on Saturday 11 March with speeches from the Mayors of Enfield and Haringey. Events during the week include an open evening about employability skills and CV writing and helping employers navigate legal issues.
This year, there is a renewed focus on quality and making apprenticeships a viable route for all.
Jackie Chapman, director of employability and employer engagement at CONEL explained: “There has been a real focus on ‘quality’ to improve the reputation of apprenticeships as a great way into work. In the past it was challenging to attract more able applicants, predominately due to a misplaced perception that apprenticeships are for less academic students, and the highest demand was for intermediate level 2 apprenticeships.
“However, over the past couple of years, there has been a gradual but significant shift starting to take place. Publicity over the new Higher and Degree Apprenticeships has started to demonstrate that there is a viable progression route to most industries.”
You can find out more about CONEL and apprenticeships by visiting their website.
Other events in the borough are being hosted by Barnet and Southgate College, Southgate Campus to mark National Apprenticeship Week. This includes an ICT taster session along with an employer talk, and an electrical demonstration with Q&A.
Go to the Barnet and Southgate College website. Capel Manor is the third further education college in the borough. It is holding an advice evening on 13 March where apprenticeships as well as other areas of education can be discussed. More details can be found at the Capel Manor website.
