• Leaving school or college this summer?
• Hoping to earn and learn through an Apprenticeship or Work Based learning
programme.
• Interested in finding out more about local learning opportunities and not sure
about which direction to take?

If you are 16-18 years old and considering an Apprenticeship or you are an employer interested in offering an Apprenticeship opportunity, the following may help

Sixth form student Megan Snowdon has grabbed the chance to get her career prospects on track by timetabling some studies with the Tyne and Wear Metro.

And thanks to a programme between her school - St. Thomas More in Blaydon - and training provider Access, the signals look good for the 17-year-old from Lobley Hill.

Megan is one of 12 students to be given the chance to experience the real world of work while studying for a recognised qualification through the special arrangement between the school and Access.

Just two days after Sir Alan Sugar hired Yasmina Siadatan as his new apprentice, he came face to face with the real thing when he met an Access apprentice at a major event in Gateshead. Sir Alan is heading up the national publicity campaign for apprenticeships and was in Gateshead to host the last of 4 national employer events to herald the launch of the National Apprenticeship Service.

16 year old Jade Bruce was one of three apprentices from across the region selected to meet Sir Alan and government ministers, and to answer questions from some of the 300 businesses present at the event, held at Gateshead's Lancastrian Suite. Sir Alan and Under Secretary of State Lord Young both said how impressed they had been with the apprentices they had met, and commented particularly about Jade's background as a Young Apprentice, gaining valuable experience from the age of 14 through the programme delivered by Access, ITEC North East and Kingsmeadow School.

Jade, and her employer Laura Fox from Rok Build, impressed everyone so much that they were snapped up for interviews with the press and both featured on BBC and ITV local news later that night.

Managing Director of Access Malcolm Armstrong added "we welcome the launch of the National Apprenticeship Service and were pleased to be part of this event. Jade and her employer did an excellent job in explaining the benefits of apprenticeships to those present and then again through the press interviews. It was plain to see how much Jade has developed in the last few years - what confidence and such great communication skills in somebody so young!"

For more information about apprenticeships visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk or contact the Access Business Solutions team on 0191 490 4651

Are you interested in an opportunity to prepare for an Apprenticeship programme in Administration, IT or Customer Service?

Make the most of your time and skills with the Progress 2 Course.

Gateshead Get Up and Go ! – 10am to 3pm Saturday 28th March 2009
• Leaving school or college this summer?
• Hoping to earn and learn through an Apprenticeship or Work Based learning
programme.
• Interested in finding out more about local learning opportunities and not sure about
which direction to take?

With limited funding Carolyn Power, Human Resources Manager at Seaton Park Medical Group in Ashington, welcomed an approach by ITEC to train staff through government funded Adult Apprenticeships. Facing the challenge of merging two local GP practices, structured vocational training is an excellent opportunity to give her team positive focus, working together for mutual gain and individual achievement for their Level 2 NVQ’s.

We are proud to announce that the Collective has moved.

With support from the LSC and single programme funding through the Tyne Wear Partnership, the Collective and four of our partner organisations - Access, ITEC North East, Gateshead College WBL Unit and Neeta Limited, have co-lated to the new Skills Academy on Kingsway, Team Valley Gateshead. The multi million pound site also houses the Gateshead Education Improvement partnership 14-16 Skills and Enterprise Centre.

Our new home includes training and conference facilities, which will enhance our service to learners, employers and partners.

The Skills Academy was officially opened by Mr George Lobel on 22 October 2008.

Our new contact details are:

The Collective
Gateshead Skills Academy
8th Avenue
Kingsway
Gateshead
NE11 0JL
Telephone: 0191 490 4640

Report from Malcolm Armstrong, Chairman, Gateshead Collective for Vocational Learning.

Download Report (1.2MB)

We are proud to announce that from 30 June 2008 the Collective will have a new home!

With support from the LSC and single programme funding through the Tyne Wear Partnership, the Collective and four of our partner organisations – Access, ITEC North East, Gateshead College WBL Unit and Neeta Ltd, will co-locate to the new Skills Academy on Kingsway, Team Valley Gateshead. The multi million pound site will also house the Gateshead Education Improvement partnership 14-16 Skills and Enterprise Centre.

Our new home includes training and conference facilities, which will enhance our service to learners, employers and partners.

An official launch of the Skills Academy is planned in the autumn.

One of the region’s longest established and most successful retailers is sold on training which it believes is supporting business development in an increasingly competitive market place.

T & G Allan, which this year celebrates its 150th anniversary, is taking advantage of the Train to Gain service which is being promoted as part of a government’s drive to improve the skills of the UK’s workforce.

With grants on offer to help meet costs, the company has called in Access Training to deliver pilot programmes in customer care and team leadership for 19 staff at its stores in Whitley Bay and Morpeth.

Building on the success of Apprenticeships for 16-24 year olds, Apprenticeship opportunities for people aged 25+ have recently been introduced. The LSC funded programme operates in specific regions in the UK at present, one of which is the North East.

As well as a new home, we are also pleased to announce that Van Hee has become the eighth partner of the Collective.

The Collective welcome Van Hee, who for who over 20 years has been engaged in the training, development and supply of staff to the logistics sector.

Van Hee’s connections and experience as a logistics operator, their partnerships with local businesses, and experience gained in delivering contracts for Jobcentre Plus, Learning and Skills Councils, Schools and Colleges further enhances the Collective’s ability to help members of the community find opportunities and assist employers to recruit and train new and existing staff.

Visit the Van Hee website

Collective partners TDR Training have recently launched a new look website. The site allows user commenting, has newsfeed and multimedia content and keeps you bang up to date with TDR activities and initiatives. The site was developed on their behalf by ictGateshead.

A former apprentice has been appointed by the training company which helped him into work to lead its rebranding exercise.

It was Access Training which secured Philip Lowery’s first job as a junior designer in 1993. And now, as owner manager of brand consultancy, Projector, he’s been commissioned to develop a new image for his former mentors.

When Philip was approached to tender for the project he jumped at the chance saying: “The company was a great help to me when I was beginning my career and I was delighted to be given the chance to help it now with the next stage of its development.”

Clockwise from left, Michael Spriggs of UK Land Estates, Gateshead College principal David Cheetham, Malcolm Armstrong of the Collective and Gateshead councillor Catherine Donovan.

Construction is underway on a new multi-million pound Skills Academy on Tyneside to provide employers and learners with some of the best facilities in the region.

The £6m Skills Academy, on Team Valley, is part of a regional drive to establish a world-class education and learning infrastructure to boost regional economic growth. The new Gateshead centre will offer vocational learning with facilities for a wide range of work-based courses.

Due to open in spring 2008, the new site will provide learning amenities for more than 1,500 students and is the result of a unique partnership between seven leading training providers known as the Collective together with the Gateshead Education Improvement Partnership.