Education and Skills Funding Agency
Apprentices from GSK Ulverston were crowned the winners of the Brathay Apprentice Challenge in June following a testing 6-month challenge that saw them compete against teams from the countrys leading apprentice employers and training providers.
John Woodcock MP, Brathay Trust and Sue Husband, Director of the National Apprenticeship Service, met with the apprentices to congratulate them on their efforts.
The Brathay Apprentice Challenge is the search for the apprentice team of the year and supported by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. In 2017, teams of apprentices reached over 70,000 young people to raise awareness of the benefits of apprenticeships and recruited over 500 new employers interested in offering apprenticeships, in addition to delivering 44 community projects to benefit young people.
GSK narrowly beat Nottingham City Homes into second place and JCB who finished third. Teams from Derwent Training Association, IBM, Redrow Homes, Severn Trent Water and WSP also competed in the national finals.
GSK team leader and engineering apprentice, Joseph Hambley, said:
It has been a privilege to be invited to meet with John Woodcock, MP and come to Westminster today. We were ecstatic to have won the top title of the apprentice team of the year out of 650 apprentices that entered the challenge.
The experience and opportunities from the Brathay Apprentice Challenge will stay with us all forever; from producing a film to raise awareness about the dangers of asthma in children and teens to recruiting employers and educating young people about apprenticeships.
We hope that winning the title will support our efforts to inspire young people and promote apprenticeships. Hard work, determination and self-confidence are key for success.
Sue Husband, Director, National Apprenticeship Service concluded:
The Brathay Apprentice Challenge requires commitment, determination and teamwork to succeed and the team from GSK showed all these skills in abundance to be crowned winners. I am so pleased to see them all again today, to celebrate their success and for them to get the opportunity to receive deserved recognition from their local MP at Westminster.
The attributes of this team of apprentices includes optimism, self-control and creativity and I am delighted to be in the company of such successful apprentices today.