Competing to be crowned apprentice team of the year 2015
Winchester City Council has entered the Brathay Apprentice Challenge 2015, the official search for the nation’s apprentice team of the year supported by the National Apprenticeship Scheme.
Now in its fourth year, the Brathay Apprentice Challenge tests apprentices on their team-building, leadership, logistical and communications abilities in a series of challenges including awareness-raising and community projects.
Winchester City Council will launch its community project details soon with the support of the Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Eileen Berry, who invited past and present apprentices to a meet-and-greet session.
The Mayor of Winchester said:
It was an absolute pleasure to meet and talk to 20 apprentices, all working for Winchester City Council. The enthusiasm was plain to see and they are taking their apprenticeships very seriously which goes to prove that we did what we said we would do for young people in the workplace. With the right encouragement and support, I know that our apprentices will go a very long way.
The eight finalists will be announced at the end of May and will battle it out to be crowned apprentice team of the year. The teams take part in further awareness and fundraising activities until 6 July 2015, when they will make a trip to Brathay Trust’s Windermere headquarters to complete the logistical and team-building finale. The overall winner will be announced on 8 July 2015.
Sue Husband, Director at the National Apprenticeship Service, said:
We are pleased to welcome Winchester City Council into this year’s Brathay Apprentice Challenge. The activities that the apprentices undertake in the Challenge are part of an enhanced apprenticeship which benefits both employers and apprentices; employers gain a workforce with transferable skills throughout the business while apprentices themselves become more employable and more likely to be promoted.
Godfrey Owen, Chief Executive of Brathay Trust, said:
The tasks that the teams complete as part of the Challenge allow the apprentices to develop a huge range of skills. These are skills which are not only useful within the Challenge, but essential for the workplace. It is good to see companies including Winchester City Council engaging their apprentices in such a challenge.
The Challenge focuses on offering an enhanced apprenticeship, developing skills like team-building, leadership and communications – many of which are found in the top positions within business.
Follow the team’s progress on Twitter @wccapprentices.
For more information on the Brathay Apprentice Challenge visit www.brathay.org.uk/challenge