February 2023

Staff, students and apprentices are celebrating after receiving our fourth ‘Good’ report from Ofsted.

Inspectors, who visited our Cheltenham, Gloucester and Forest of Dean Campuses during November 2022, looked at eight key areas, including the quality of education, apprenticeships, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and adult learning programmes, under a new enhanced inspection framework that launched in September.

Our Chancel Close facilities cater for Level 2 and Level 3 in carpentry and plumbing, and final end point assessments for brick and property maintenance.

Apprenticeships are a great way to break into an industry you're interested in so getting off to a strong start will help kick start your future career. We have compiled a list of top tips to help you on your way to finding an apprenticeship and succeeding while on the job.

The short answer: yes!

Apprenticeships have come a long way in recent years and are no longer just associated with trades like plumbing or carpentry. They’re available in a huge range of sectors, including accountancy, computing, IT and engineering, to name a few!

Congratulations to Izabela who graduated from GC in November 2022 with a Level 4 Professional Diploma in Accounting. In celebration of National Apprenticeship Week 2023, we asked Izabela about her journey as an AAT apprentice with Advanced Innergy Solutions, and this is what she told us.

There are many types of apprenticeships depending on the level you wish to study. Many apprenticeships offer pathways to progress onto a higher level course depending on your industry - so getting more informed about these potential avenues is key to your future career.

Alan Mulrooney, our Senior Business and Apprenticeships Sales Executive shares his thoughts on some of the challenges in the Hospitality sector and ways to address staff turnover and increase productivity and engagement.

In the lead up to National Apprenticeship week we met up with Mark Misztal, a Cyber Security Graduate apprentice at CDS Defence and Security to get his insights into the industry and learn how the apprenticeship programme has been supporting his professional ambitions.

Here are 5 simple questions that will help you define whether your apprentice is having a good experience and developing all the required competencies.

Upskilling is the training or education given to employees to help develop and build upon their existing skills. Employers can benefit from the training and reap the rewards it brings to staff and the business. One of the ways that upskilling can be achieved is through apprenticeships. This is a successful training option for many employers because of the hands-on learning experience while on the job.

The apprenticeship levy was initiated by the UK government for all employers paying a wage bill of more than £3 million per year. The levy tax of 0.5% of your payroll is automatically collected by HMRC at the end of each month through your PAYE system.

The great news is that you can reinvest this levy back into your workforce in the form of apprenticeship training.