7/2/12
Eight teams from some of the country’s leading employers are set to battle it out to become the ‘apprentice team of year’ in a new challenge launched today.
The Brathay Apprentice Challenge will pit eight teams of apprentices against each other in a range of challenges designed to test young people’s business acumen, team working and even physical endurance.
The teams, which include apprentices from Bentley, the Co-operative, Virgin Media, the National Apprenticeship Service, Rolls-Royce, Balfour Beatty, defence manufacturers MBDA and aerospace firm Cobham, will be joined by a team made up of apprentices who are also GB Junior Rowing Team potentials – supported by AASE apprentice and Junior World Champion Finalist Jack Beaumont (pictured).
Following two months of challenges designed to test teams’ abilities to work together, fundraise for a variety of charities and spread the word about what apprentices can achieve, the Challenge will come to a head with a full day contest at Brathay’s Cumbrian training HQ on 16th March.
The challenges will test teams’ problem solving and physical endurance as they end the day with a 10-mile whaler boat race across Lake Windermere.
AASE apprentice and rower Jack Beaumont said: “I am proud to be supporting the Brathay Apprentice Challenge. Many athletes who are representing our country, at the highest level, have completed SkillsActive’s Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence and so we know first hand the positive impact Apprenticeships have not just on those who take them, but on wider society.”
Jez Anderson from the Brathay Trust, commented: “The Challenge is designed to build on the work we have been doing for many years, helping apprentices’ personal development and demonstrating that apprentices don’t just help businesses grow, they also help develop their local communities.
“The search for the apprentice team of the year will not only demonstrate the formidable skills of the nation’s apprentices, but demonstrate the range of careers available to apprentices.”
Jaine Bolton, Director of the National Apprenticeship Service, welcomed the launch of the challenge.
“We know that one of the main reasons employers offer Apprenticeships is to build skills capacity in their businesses and this Challenge will bring to life the benefits apprentices bring to employers.
"In this new era of higher quality Apprenticeships, that are helping the nation’s businesses grow, more needs to be done to recognise the incredible talent and success of the nation’s apprentices.
“Events like the Brathay Apprentice Challenge are vital in ensuring the success of our apprentices is celebrated and rewarded.”
The Brathay Challenge will form part of the ‘new era for Apprenticeships’ campaign – full details of which will be announced at a Parliamentary Reception as part of National Apprenticeship Week.
To find out about Apprenticeships visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk or call 08000 150 600. To find out more about the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence, visit www.skillsactive.com/aase
Source: National Apprenticeship Service
