February 2022 - Page 2 of 2 - Capital City College Group

Blog: Have YOU considered an apprenticeship instead of university?

Posted on February 7, 2022February 7, 2022 by Christina Savvides

Would you like to gain new skills and new knowledge, and get paid while you’re studying for it? An apprenticeship could be the answer. This week is the 15th annual National Apprenticeships Week, a celebration of how apprenticeships help people of all ages develop the skills and knowledge that they need for a rewarding career.

To start the week, Jackie Chapman (Managing Director of Capital City College Training) shares her thoughts on why school leavers should seriously consider an apprenticeship instead of A Levels, T Levels, BTECs or even university, and why it’s a great option for people looking to change careers too.

As National Apprenticeship Week starts, I am reminded of the confusing range of choices available to those leaving school and looking to start the next stage in their lives.

Whether you are 16 or 18 years old, you’ve just had an experience unlike any other generation, making it essential that you have the right support to make the best choices now, which will have a positive impact on your future career.

For some of you, taking A Levels or going to college, and then on to university, may be the best choice, but others would do well by going into work – and in today’s economy there are plenty of options for those who want to! Faced with staff shortages in many key industries, employers are crying out for staff and there has never been a better time to look for a job.

For once, the power is in your hands.

So why should new career starters – or older people changing careers for that matter – apply for an apprenticeship, or ask a perspective employer to put them on an apprenticeship?

Apprenticeships used to only be available in ‘hands-on’ professions like plumbing and construction, but nowadays you can be an apprentice in a much wider choice of occupations. , from accountancy and professional services, to business, HR, engineering and childcare. You can even do apprenticeships with us in the hospitality sector – as a chef for example – or in visual effects in the TV of film industry.

Apprenticeships are for everyone and every age too, not just 16 or 18 year olds. We have people in their 20s, 30s and 40s who’ve changed careers and are now doing apprenticeships in HR, Procurement, Management, Adult Care and many other jobs.

In my opinion, being an apprentice is one of the best ways to ensure that you have ongoing support in a new role, because as an apprentice:

1. You have to be given guaranteed time from work to study

2. You have to have a workplace mentor who will guide you

3. You have a coach or tutor from the training provider to support you

4. You have the chance to learn and develop your skills, with managers understanding your development needs.

Great employers recognise the important of supporting staff, so if you are considering employment – check if they offer apprenticeships!

You might be asking how an apprenticeship works and who can do one. As long as you are 16 or older and have not already completed a qualification in a similar role, you can be an apprentice. Apprentices are employed and have time away from work (usually one day per week) to study for a

qualification. To be an apprentice, you can be a new or current employee and are always paid at least the minimum apprentice wage (many employers pay their apprentices more). And, as you’re studying while you’re working, you could also receive a range of travel and council tax discounts too.

An apprenticeship could be your ticket to success. Find out more about our apprenticeships here.

Our Chief Executive comments on today’s Levelling Up White Paper

Posted on February 2, 2022February 3, 2022 by Maria Anguita

Roy O’Shaughnessy, Chief Executive of Capital City College Group, said:

It is right that the Government wants to ‘level-up’ the UK. However, the 332 pages of the white paper and the plans announced today, have very little new policy or funding – either to support Londoners as they recover from the economic shock of COVID, or which acknowledges the vital role that further education colleges around the country must play in the Government’s re-skilling and levelling-up agenda.

While the white paper takes a place-based approach to tackling the massive task of levelling-up, it doesn’t also take into account the fact that poverty and lack of opportunity is found even in wealthy areas. Rightly, the white paper promises better schools, freeports, transport upgrades, Levelling up funds – even Project Gigabit funds – for many parts of the country, but it does not have room for Londoners who live, and learn, in some of the most deprived wards in the country.

London is home to around 2.5 million disadvantaged people and a greater proportion of its population are poor than that of any other UK region. For example, some 67 per cent of our students are in the bottom three bands of social deprivation, but not one of the 55 new Education Investment Areas will be in the capital.

Further education colleges must play a key role in supporting the levelling-up of their communities. If they are to deliver the inspirational and engaging skills training which learners need to boost their life chances and make levelling-up a reality, colleges must be able to adequately reward their staff, attract new talent into teaching, invest in IT and physical infrastructure, and innovate. But without a sustainable and longer-term funding settlement for the sector, colleges will not be able to do any of these things.

Read the full Levelling Up White Paper here.

Creative industries get a boost with the launch of a new skills hub to help Londoners get into work

Posted on February 2, 2022January 23, 2023 by Hannah Fenton

Capital City College Group (CCCG) – London’s largest further education college group – has today launched a new Creative hub, which will fast-track Londoners into work in the film and TV industries, by giving them the skills they need to start careers in this exciting and growing sector.

The Creative Academy Hub is run by Westminster Kingsway College, which is part of Capital City College Group, in partnership with Film London and Middlesex University London. The hub will work with employers to design education programmes that will give the industry the skilled people they need to help their businesses to grow and to safeguard the future of the sector.

It will offer skills training and education to help people into a wide range of jobs in the film, TV, animation, visual effects and games sectors, from supervisors, production carpenters and costumiers, to 3D animators, game developers, technicians and production managers, as well as legal, support and administrative roles.

It will support people from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds including black and ethnic minorities, young people, people earning below the London living wage, those with disabilities, the over 50s, single parents, caregivers and the unemployed.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan meets WestKing students

As Westminster Kingsway College Vice Principal Jas Sondhi explained:

“London has a well-deserved global reputation for its creative industries, but many Londoners are locked-out of careers in this growing sector. For example, only 13 per cent of creative jobs are currently filled by people from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.

“Other people also face barriers to creative careers too. Many people start by doing freelance work or taking low-paid jobs to get into the industry, but if you’re living on benefits, have caring responsibilities, or have been unemployed, you often can’t risk doing that, or you don’t have the skills that employers are looking for.

“As one of central London’s largest colleges, we teach thousands of people of all ages from these backgrounds every year. We also have a lot of experience of helping them into a variety of jobs and, drawing on our expertise and the knowledge and contacts of our partners, the new hub will make it easier for people to gain the skills and the confidence they need to break into these industries.”

The Creative Academy Hub also builds on Capital City College Group’s work with the creative industry. As well as running courses across its college sites in central and north London, the Group is key partner in the 01Founders coding school – which teaches high-end coding skills regardless of previous education or experience and guarantees a job at the end of the course – and works with the NextGen Skills Academy to help young people into the visual effects and games industries.

Adrian Wootton OBE, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission, said:

“Today’s announcement by the Mayor couldn’t have come at a better time. Global demand for screen content is at an all-time high, creating opportunities at every level, from camera operator to caterer to costume designer to coder. So it’s vital that we continue to develop our talented, diverse workforce here in London, to capitalise on the demand and fill thousands of new jobs being created. Film London is delighted to partner on the new Skills Academy with Capital City College Group, supported by Middlesex University and London Higher. A unique consortium of the screen industry, learning providers and government, the new Creative Sector Screen Skills Academy will help Londoners acquire new skills, retrain and progress into good jobs within the sector.

“What’s equally exciting is that, with London serving as the test bed, this initiative also has the potential to be scalable, offering a blueprint for similar screen skills academies to meet the needs of production hubs across the UK. The academy will be working closely with Screen Skills and the BFI, and its direction will be complementary to the BFI’s forthcoming Skills Review. This really will help cement the UK’s position as the leading centre for world-class content production.”

The Hub’s tried and tested approach is designed to widen the pool of people who can work in the creative industries and increase the numbers of disadvantaged Londoners in the sector. It will include free skills training with short courses and bootcamps for people with other commitments, masterclasses and opportunities to gain work experience with employers, as well as extra support for people who need it – for example, building their confidence, CV and interview skills for those who are applying for jobs, networking opportunities, ‘meet the employers’ events and workshops.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan set out plans for the Mayor’s Academies Programme in March 2021 as part of the London Recovery Plan to support vulnerable communities and rebuild the capital’s economy. The £44 million programme will support Londoners to get jobs by providing them with flexible work-based training programmes to enable them to gain and develop skills for careers in industries that are vital for London’s long-term prosperity.

The screen industries employ around 210,000 people in the UK with a turnover of £40 billion a year. The industry is expanding at three times the rate of the wider UK economy, and around 24,000 employers currently operate within the industry – c.70 per cent of which are in London or the south east.

Capital City College Group secured over £735,000 to run the Creative Academy hub after a successful bid to the Mayor’s Academies Programme. The Group has secured a total of £1.5 million to run hubs in Digital, Hospitality, Creative and Green industries after successful bids

Find out about the Capital City College Group skills Academies here.