College to mark National Apprenticeship Week with return of annual Apprenticeship Awards

Wiltshire College & University Centre is to celebrate its diverse apprenticeships offering during National Apprenticeship Week next week, capped by the return of in-person Apprenticeship Awards.

National Apprenticeship Week is organised by the Government and is an annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships that takes place across England. The 2023 edition runs from Monday, 6th February to Sunday, 12th February and will be the 16th running of the event.

Wiltshire College & University Centre is one of the leading providers of apprenticeships in the South West and has around 2,000 apprentices enrolled on a training programme throughout the course of a year. WCUC works with around 900 amazing employer partners and offers over 70 different training programmes.

The highlight of WCUC’s National Apprenticeship Week activities will be the return of the annual Apprenticeship Awards as an in-person event for the first time since 2020. The ceremony is one of the highlights of the WCUC calendar and a number of outstanding apprenticeships will be honoured with prizes in front of family, friends, colleagues, College staff and dignitaries. The event will take place at the Civic Centre in Trowbridge on Tuesday, 7^th February.

Jennifer Mellows, Vice Principal Curriculum and Business Development at WCUC, said:

“Apprenticeships are a huge part of our offering at Wiltshire College & University Centre and we’re proud that so many apprentices and businesses utilise our services to develop their workplace skills while gaining a qualification in the process.

“National Apprenticeship Week is always a brilliant event and something we look forward to every year. This year is particularly exciting with the return of our annual Apprenticeship Awards, which will be fitting way to celebrate the amazing achievements of some of our apprenticeships.

“We would like to thank all of our apprentices for the hard work they have shown throughout the past 12 months, and also the huge range of businesses we work with for their continued support in training people to gain nationally recognised qualifications working alongside experienced professionals.”

WCUC began its National Apprenticeship Week celebrations in late January by hosting the Apprenticeship and Early Careers Fair organised by Salisbury Education & Business Partnership at its Salisbury campus, which was attended by schools across the city and beyond.

During National Apprenticeship Week itself, members of the WCUC Apprenticeships and Careers teams will run apprenticeships workshops on campus, and all full-time students will be shown a video presentation highlighting the benefits of an apprenticeship during their weekly tutorial programme. Several external visits to secondary schools around the county have also been arranged which will see WCUC staff explain apprenticeship options to prospective students.

To find out more about WCUC’s apprenticeships offering, contact 0845 345 2235 or [email protected], or visit www.wiltshire.ac.uk/study/apprenticeships.