University honoured for its apprenticeship programme

15 Mar 2016

Awarded silver in the Apprentice Employer of The Year Awards

The University’s fledgling Business Administration Apprenticeship Programme has been honoured by the largest provider of apprenticeships and traineeships in the region.

The Manchester Growth Company, which provides the assessed training component of our administrative apprenticeships, has awarded the University the runner up prize in its Apprentice Employer of The Year Awards.

Jayne Worthington, Managing Director of the Skills Company, part of the Manchester Growth Company, said: “I have watched with interest as The University of Manchester’s commitment to apprenticeships has been put into action and it is particularly encouraging to see that significant numbers of its apprentices have moved into substantive roles.

“The feedback we receive tells us that the University provides first-rate skills development opportunities for apprentices within a very supportive environment.”

Steve Grant, Assistant Director of HR, who leads on apprenticeships, said: “That we have been recognised in this way and so early in the development of our apprenticeship programme is a tribute to the commitment of colleagues across the University.

“We have administration apprentices in the Directorate for the Student Experience (DSE), the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) and the Faculty of Humanities, and colleagues who supervise and mentor our young people take the responsibility of supporting them incredibly seriously.

“The introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017 presents us with an exciting opportunity to establish a sector leading apprenticeship programme. The model developed by Adrian Parker and colleagues in EPS provides is with a very useful template for the development of our programme.”

The awards were given out in National Apprenticeship Week, which celebrates the impact that apprenticeships have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy, and the ‘pass the torch’ campaign aims to spread the word about how apprenticeships can change lives and improve communities.

Jayne Worthington added: “The quality of entries for the three categories, Apprentice of the Year, Pre-Apprentice of the Year, and Employer of the Year was exceptionally high, which made the judging a very difficult task.  What really stood out from the entries was that we are privileged to work with apprentices and pre-apprentices with such enthusiasm and talent, and with such dedicated and supportive employers.”