Nelson and Colne College hosts apprenticeship and careers events

A week of events hosted by Nelson and Colne College has seen hundreds of young people engage with a wide range of local employers.

The college organised an action-packed agenda to mark National Apprenticeship Week and National Careers Week.

Highlights included an Internal Careers Expo on Wednesday where more than 900 college students engaged with 40-plus employers and universities, and principal Amanda Melton closed the week of activities on Friday by going ‘Back to the Floor’ on a visit to one of the college’s employer partners, internationally-renowned lighting specialists acdc.

During the visit to acdc, Amanda met the board of directors, had a tour of the Barrowford factory and chatted to apprentices about their roles and how the apprenticeship programme is developing their skillset personally and professionally.

Amanda said: “I had an absolutely fantastic time at acdc and I was fascinated to learn more about how the business works and embeds Apprentices into its culture and day to day business operations.

“It was great to meet a number of those employees on my tour of the factory who have chosen the apprenticeship route to upskill, benefiting the business and their career progression. I believe apprenticeships are essential to supporting a thriving economy and the opportunities available through apprenticeships are vast. I’m thrilled that acdc and its staff are embracing these opportunities fully.”

Level 3 ICT Networking Systems Support student Hamid Minhas was one of those students attending the Careers Expo. The 18-year-old said: “The Expo was really useful for students. There was a great choice of stands across so many different industries. I’m looking to do motion graphics design with sales and marketing and I managed to speak to a number of employers so for me it was brilliant.”

The week’s celebrations also saw two A Level Politics students Niamh Kay and Hannah Walker, and one apprentice Megan Crabtree, becoming apprentice MPs for the day, shadowing Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson during his constituency appointments, and gaining first-hand experience of some of the duties of an MP. Other highlights included a suite of new apprenticeship videos, which were shared widely on Nelson and Colne College's social media platforms and YouTube channels, as well as ‘Day in the Life of an Apprentice’ features, including engineering apprentice Thomas Marchant at Pendle Engineering in Nelson.