Oaklands College invites SMEs to apprenticeships summit

Oaklands College is hosting a NextGen Engineers Summit which will give SMEs in the engineering, manufacturing and construction industry the opportunity to find out more about how the college has relaunched its apprenticeship scheme courses in these subjects.

The Shape the Future of Engineering Skills and Apprenticeships summit is free to attend and will take place at Oaklands College's campus in Welwyn Garden City on Thursday, October 24.

It will feature talks from industry leaders including keynote speaker Russell Cox, who is apprenticeship programme manager for Airbus Space and Defence.

Russell Cox will discuss Airbus' apprenticeship journey, how the company is adapting its training and development to meet changing business and industry needs, and the company's initiatives to promote women in STEM.

There will also be discussions on identifying key apprenticeship needs, a tour of the engineering facilities and a networking lunch.

Oaklands recently revived its engineering, manufacturing and construction apprenticeship scheme courses and is keen to work more closely with local SMEs — small and medium-sized enterprises — on its range of apprenticeship courses to ensure that the college is helping students to develop the technical skills that are required for a career in these industries.

Oaklands College is hosting an engineering skills and apprenticeships summit (Image: Oaklands College)

Claire Dolan, deputy principal strategy, partnership and business development, said: "Our state-of-the art facilities at our sites in St Albans and Welwyn and our good Ofsted inspection last year have given us the opportunity to relaunch our apprenticeship scheme courses in engineering, manufacturing and construction.

"We are keen to communicate this to SMEs in these industries, to work with them to create apprenticeship courses that create cohorts of students leaving Oaklands with skills that will allow them to hit the ground running when they secure full-time employment.

"The summit gives us the perfect opportunity to meet SMEs keen to hear more about what our offering is at the college, alongside networking opportunities and speeches from industry leaders."

When is the summit?

The Shape the Future of Engineering Skills and Apprenticeships Summit is free to attend and will take place at Oaklands College's campus in Welwyn Garden City on October 24 between 8.30am-1pm.

To book your place, go to https://ow.ly/Zt2G50TtsON

Claire Dolan added: "We know how good our engineering faculty is at Oaklands.

"Three of our students earlier this year beat off tough competition from 600 other students from around the country to secure places on aircraft engineering apprenticeships schemes with TUI, the UK's leading holiday company.

Oaklands College is hosting an engineering skills and apprenticeships summit (Image: Oaklands College) "And the TUI engineering team give us some great feedback, which is testament to the hard work of the teachers and support staff in their engineering faculty and the calibre of students graduating from Oaklands. This highlights how good career progression opportunities are for apprentices.

"As new technologies emerge and the shift toward a green, decarbonised economy accelerates, the engineering sector faces a pressing need for future-ready skills.

"Yet, 41 per cent of engineering and manufacturing businesses have no connection with skills providers. Our Shape the Future of Engineering Skills and Apprenticeships Summit goes some way to bridging this gap."