The Oxfordshire Apprenticeships team were invited to Gosford Hill School on 30th June to deliver a 30 minute presentation on Apprenticeships to all staff as part of an INSET day.

Tutor groups at the school are organised using the vertical tutoring model, meaning that every tutor group is mixed-age and made up of students from years 7 to 11. The school felt that it would be beneficial for all tutors to have some up to date knowledge about Apprenticeships in order to help them advise the older students in their tutor groups about their career choices.

Around 80 teachers attended the session, where they heard about types and levels of Apprenticeships, career paths and opportunities to access higher level qualifications, including Degree Apprenticeships.  

In addition to an overview of Apprenticeships, the teachers had the opportunity to hear from three of our Apprenticeship Ambassadors also attended to talk about their experiences and answer questions. As well as hearing first-hand about what it’s like to be an Apprentice, they also got an insight into Apprenticeship schemes at two high profile local Apprenticeship employers – BMW and Nielsen.

Finance Apprentice at MINI Plant Oxford Harriet explained how she started her Apprenticeship after sixth form and is currently working towards a degree alongside her Apprenticeship, paid for by BMW. Maintenance Engineering Apprentice Kelly shared her experience of taking part in the Girls Go Technical programme at MINI Plant Oxford, which helped her decide to start an Apprenticeship with BMW at the end of Year 11. Level 5 Business Innovation & Growth Apprentice at Nielsen, Jess, talked about Higher Apprenticeships and why they are a great alternative to university.

The presentations generated some great discussion and questions from the teachers, who were able to ask the Ambassadors everything they wanted to know about choosing and Apprenticeship and being an Apprentice.

The Apprenticeship Ambassadors enjoyed being able to share their knowledge and experience in order to help Gosford Hill School staff advise their students. Harriet said: “I believe a talk aimed at staff is a valuable method of informing teachers about different routes students can take after leaving school. There may be teachers who do not know much about Apprenticeships, which in turn might mean that students are not given as much information as they would about university. I enjoyed talking to teachers at Gosford Hill School about BMW Apprenticeships because they showed genuine interest and enthusiasm for the topic.”

If you would like to book an Apprenticeship overview session for your school, please contact skills@oxfordshirelep.com.