Welcome to the Working with Employers Newsletter
This newsletter is brought to you by the Employer Engagement team at the College who reach out into the local communities and speak with employers and business owners. We aim to provide support, guidance and information regarding education and your industry whilst gaining insight into local employers and businesses. In the monthly newsletter we will be sharing how we are working with local employers and businesses, informing about government related strategies in relation to education, sharing stories about students and employers working together and overall insight into the North Kent College group and Hadlow College.
It is July already! Where has the year gone. We are rounding up the end of the academic year with some big changes at the Colleges.
Your Local College is changing...
We’d like to inform you of some important changes that will be taking place in readiness for our students return in September 2021.
In August last year, following extensive due diligence, the Governing body of North Kent College formally agreed to the transfer of the Tonbridge campus of West Kent College and Hadlow College (located close by). The transfer took effect from 15th August 2020 and included all students and the education-related facilities.
As part of the move towards one College, our Governors have made the decision that our General Further Education offer should have one distinct brand and identity. Therefore, from 1st August 2021, all of North Kent College’s campuses (Dartford, Gravesend and Tonbridge) will be branded and known as North Kent College.
July Headlines
- Star Apprentice - Holly McGuillicuddy presented with Student of the Year 2021 by Lee Stafford
- Employer Spotlight - Golf Club above par when supporting young people
- Full time Student to Full time Carpenter with Hine Construction
- Reminder - KFE Graduation for apprentices
- Bridie King completes her placement with Classic Accountancy UK Ltd
- Newsflash - A blooming new apprenticeship at Hadlow College
Star Apprentice - Holly McGillicuddy presented with Student of the Year 2021 Styling L1 & L2 by Lee Stafford.
Apprentice Holly McGillicuddy, a Level 2 Hairdressing apprentice recently took park in the National Lee Stafford academies competition. Lee Stafford Education holds the annual National Hairdressing Competition for their Lee Stafford Academies which is usually held at the L’Oreal headquarters in London but due to the impact of Covid-19, the event had to be adapted to allow aspiring hairdressers the same opportunity as previous years.
Lee Stafford Academies were sent the photo shoot brief for the following categories Styling Level 2 & 3, Cutting and Styling Level 2 and Cutting & Styling Level 3. All photographs were judged anonymously and independently - judges were unable to see the entrant’s names and which college they attend, all photographs were displayed in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category.
Holly McGillicuddy, North Kent College apprentice working at Salon 167 won 1st Place in Styling.
Hayley, Salon Director at Salon 167 said,
We are so pleased with Holly’s professional progress at College and within the salon. Especially with the current circumstances. She deserved to win with all the hard work she’s put in during COVID closures. The standard of learning is great, and we couldn’t ask for any more support from LSE NKC. We cannot wait for her to qualify and become a confident stylist.
Employer Spotlight
London Golf Club performs above par in supporting young people in the Industry
Hadlow College has supported the prestigious London Golf Club with the development and training of their greenkeeping team over the last 10 years. With two immaculate courses; The Heritage- Jack Nicklaus course and The International they have an expansive and integral role in the experience of their members and visitors ensuring they only experience the very best when out on the greens.
London Golf Club currently employs 8 apprentices within their greenkeeping team completing either the Level 2, Level 3 or Advanced Greenkeeping qualifications. Most recently apprentice William Watts achieved a Distinction for his Level 2 Greenkeeping certificate. Well done William!
Lee Sayers, Golf Courses & Estate Manager said,
It has been a pleasure to bring Will on and he is one of many exceptional individuals we are lucky enough to have as part of our greenkeeping team here at London Golf Club.
The apprentices have the unique opportunity to learn and work with fellow alumni and with Sports turf and Greenkeeping assessors Wayne Syers and Anthony Stockwell who both worked for the London Golf Club prior to becoming assessors.
Anthony Stockwell, Sports Turf and Greenkeeping assessor said,
The London Golf club was a superb place to work and I have enjoyed coming back and working with their apprentices to ensure the Club keeps it amazing standard. When employers such as The London Golf Club invest in apprenticeship programmes it showcases a desire to ensure they are opening up the golfing industry to the younger generations ensuring planned succession in their teams. It is always a pleasure to train and develop their apprentices in the amazing facilities on offer.
The greenkeeping apprentices alongside all the team at the Club are now preparing to host the Cazoo Classic English Open from 12th – 15th August 2021. Such an exciting time for William, fellow apprentices and all the team at The London Golf Club. We wish the Club all the best with the event.
Full time student to Full time Carpenter with Hine Construction!
Having attended employability sessions through the industry placement scheme at College, Ben Waite was very keen to seek work following his studies. Ben had applied for other work experience roles previously but wasn’t successful, which is just as well, because as soon as Tony from Hine Construction expressed interest in recruiting a recent College graduate to join his team, I knew Ben would be a great fit!
Ben completed his Level 2 Site carpentry course mid-June and by the end of the month he was working in a full-time permanent position with Hine Construction; a small building business that deals with extension, conversions and new builds.
The company owner Tony Hine comments,
We were looking to recruit staff to cope with an increased workload. We pursued various ways to recruit including the government schemes but without success. So, we decided to contact the local College and gain a young person to join the team and train in house. The whole process was very well dealt with and within a few weeks Ben started with us on a full-time basis. Having been educated by the College in carpentry he was able to immediately carry out some second fix work on site and is now learning additional building trades with us to further his skills. We would definitely look to go down this route again should we need to employ any more staff on site.”
REMINDER - KFE Kent & Medway Apprentice Graduation
KFE are already planning the third Kent and Medway Apprentice Graduation Event which will take place on Friday 8th October! They would love to celebrate the success of even more apprentices as there are over 9,000 apprentices in learning every year in the county.
If you are, or know an apprentice who will complete and achieve their apprenticeship between 1st September 2020 and 31st August 2021, now is the time for them to become one of our graduates via our easy two-step nomination and registration process.
Bridie King completes her placement with Classic Accounting UK Ltd
From our previous newsletter you would have read about how our long-term employer - Classic Accountancy UK Ltd, supporting our students with Industry Placements. One of our students at Classic Accountancy UK Ltd has successful completed 340 placement hours.
Ramneek Hundal, Employer Relationship Officer said,
Bridie started working once a week at Classic Accountancy UK Ltd from September 2020 and completed her placement on 9th June 2021. From October, Azariah noticed the drive and passion Bridie had within her work and took her on as a paid part time member of staff. Bridie started working at Classic Accountancy UK Ltd two days per week, whilst attending College 3 days per week. Despite the several of lockdowns we had, Bridie showed consisted positive behaviour and was always keen on going back to work. Due to her passion and drive, Bridie has now successfully completed her Level 3 AAT as well 340 placement hours.
Bridie updated us on her own experience,
My role within Classic Accountancy UK Ltd is a ‘Accounts Assistant’. This involves me having to upload bank statements, bills, invoices. This will then allow other team members to generate different type d reports for their clients. I have built my confidence in being able to answer the phone and deal with client enquiries appropriately. I was successful in being trained on a new system ‘QuickBooks’, this system was not used at college, therefore my knowledge and skills learnt in the workplace have only strengthened how I perform at college. My general admin skills have improved as you do not have the chance to undertake general admin at College, therefore I have a learnt a skill which you will need in any job you have. The high of this placement is being part of a team, it feels like family at Classic Accountancy UK Ltd. From the moment started here, I was welcomed extremely well and even got to celebrate my birthday with them. Another aspect of my role which I enjoy is looking at the bank statement and looking for potential errors to why our figures are not balancing. I enjoy the investigating part and informing the client.
After completing my placement, I will be working towards the Level 4 AAT qualification at College and will carry on working at Classic Accountancy UK Ltd. I enjoy my time here and am extremely thankful to Azariah and the team for giving me this great opportunity.
NEWSFLASH!
A blooming new apprenticeship!
Hadlow College are pleased to introduce to their apprenticeship offering Level 2 Florist Apprenticeship.
The level 2 florist apprenticeship is for both small retail florists to those in design studios for large scale events. The apprenticeship covers all aspects from learning the variety of floral products they will handling, including care and management, safe use and identification of poisonous products, watering and feeding methods, health and safety through to design. The course is two years long and based from our Hadlow College campus.
Contact Us
If you are interested in working with the college please get in contact. We can assist with any enquiry from commercial courses, apprenticeships, placements and much more.
Email: Business@northkent.ac.uk or call: 01322 629758
If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter please notify us by emailing Business@northkent.ac.uk
Credits:
Created with images by Engin_Akyurt - "coffee cafe table" • Monsterkoi - "spotlight stage light background" • virandek - "bouquet flowers flower arrangement"