Member Article

Apprenticeship success for Highbury College

More than thirty students secure apprenticeships in local businesses with support from REED NCFE

Students at Highbury College are celebrating apprenticeship success, securing roles with a range of local businesses with support from an innovative partnership with REED NCFE.

REED NCFE, which provides specialist training and job search support to young people, is currently running a 3x campaign to help students become three times more employable. Together with Highbury College, the organisation is taking a fresh approach to helping students into employment, focusing on the development of mind-set and employability skills, which 96 per cent of employers say they value over skill set.*

Over the last three months, more than thirty students have secured apprenticeships by accessing the service, which makes students three times more likely to find a job, be promoted and retained. If you are a business wishing to run an apprenticeship programme, please contact Ali Franklin on 02392 328757 or AlisonFranklin@reed-ncfe.org.uk

George Johnson, 17 from Portsmouth is celebrating having secured an apprenticeship with Portsmouth-based telecoms provider Aerial Business Communications (http://www.aerial-telephones.co.uk) as part of his Level 3 Networking course.

Commenting on his new role, George said: “I always knew that I wanted to work in ICT and with this in mind, REED NCFE helped me to find the best apprenticeship for me. The team supported me through the application process and also gave me some tips to stand out at interview. The service has been absolutely flawless and I’d like to say thank you for helping me to secure this job.

“I’m fully enjoying my new role at Aerial Business Communications and I’m looking forward to working alongside industry professionals so that I can continue to learn and succeed in my chosen career.”

Paul Davis, managing director at Aerial Business Communications commented: “At Aerial, the single most important thing is that we find the right people – not the right CV. By using the apprenticeship scheme, we are able to find candidates that we believe will fit into the Aerial family and have a genuine hunger to learn.

“George is thriving; you can already see a notable difference in his confidence around the office. He is getting stuck into his role and is already trying to diversify and go beyond his basic job role. George is now the fourth apprentice we have acquired via REED NCFE, two of which are now full-time members of the team. We hope the same will be true of George.”

Alasdair Downes at The REED NCFE Partnership added: “Our focus is to help students to become three times more employable and to connect learners with the world of work.

“High unemployment rates continue to persist among those under 25 and it is our job to work with colleges across the UK to support their students to get their first step onto the career ladder. Apprenticeships are a great way of doing this and I am delighted for the students at Highbury College.”

REED NCFE provides a Jobs Brokerage Service at Highbury College, helping young people to develop winning CVs and interview techniques and connecting learners with the 75 per cent of jobs that are not publicly advertised.

Helen Brennan, Executive Director of Student Support & Alumni Services at Highbury College said: “At Highbury College our mission is to enable all our students to succeed. This means providing the right skills and qualifications young people need to progress to work or further study, along with valuable work experience and outstanding support and guidance. Our partnership with REED NCFE means our students have a distinct advantage, receiving an exclusive employment service that no other college in the area can offer.”

*Research from James Reed, in association with Harvard.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Finlay Magowan .