This year, Craven College is marking the 14th National Apprenticeship Week by celebrating their amazing apprentices who have managed to work hard, have continued to learn and achieve throughout one of the most challenging years ever faced by business and education.

The impact of the coronavirus has affected all industry sectors, but the Apprenticeship Team at Craven have worked tirelessly since last March to ensure that their apprentices can continue in their learning and make good progress. Moving to on-line teaching and remote assessment has been a challenge but it has forced us to work differently and both apprentices and employers have embraced this and adapted brilliantly.

Of course, some apprentices have been furloughed and there have even been some redundancies as the economy has struggled through these difficult times, but each and every apprentice has been supported through this, their learning has continued and, where possible, new jobs have been found.

We couldn’t have done any of this without the partnerships with our amazing employers who have made every effort to look after their apprentices and support their learning in the best way that they could when faced with unexpected changes. We would like to extend a huge thank you to our all employers for their support during such a difficult time.

Despite the economic difficulties, we can also now celebrate the 150 new apprentices who have successfully gained employment and have managed, through adversity, to start their career journey since September 2020.

Sarah Haworth, Apprenticeship Development Advisor says, “Apprenticeships will be a vital contributor to the economic recovery, and the theme of this year’s National Apprenticeship week is ‘Build the Future.”

Apprenticeships are not only an affordable solution to grow a business but also provide the skills and knowledge that will build a skilled workforce for the future. We realise that there will not be a quick solution in 2021 but we can be sure, that employers will still need staff, they still want to develop their employees and there will be new opportunities for Apprenticeships as restrictions ease and we can be confident to start looking forward.

To this year’s school/college leavers who are thinking about an apprenticeship – please still apply. Our apprenticeship team will work hard to support you and help to locate appropriate employment wherever possible or identify the best study plan for you to follow until a suitable apprenticeship becomes available. And employers – please get in touch, even if you are not sure when you can start your apprentice – we can start doing the groundwork for you and have an apprentice ready to go when you are!

To find out more about how to apply or to enquire about recruiting an apprentice, contact the Apprenticeship Team on apprenticeships@craven-college.ac.uk or call 01756 693681

#BuildTheFuture #NAW2021