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Inspiring apprentices

FORMER apprentice Ashleigh Hodges has endorsed Northampton College’s new scheme designed to inspire new apprenticeship recruits as vacancies outstrip the number of candidates making applications.

Since Ashleigh completed her advanced apprenticeship with college, her career has gone from strength to strength.

Ashleigh said: “I am a guest artist for Matrix which sees me working around the world teaching seminars and doing shows and photo shoots in places like New York, Rome and South Africa. I am also the project leader for the Fellowship for British Hairdressing’s Project X team after I won a place on their fame team in 2012. I was the winner of Creative Head magazine’s It Girl 2013/14, being recognised as the most up and coming female in the industry, and I’m a British Hairdressing Awards finalist. I’m just about to start a new adventure as the creative director of Paul Falltrick Creative.

“Northampton College is a great place for anyone who is looking to study hairdressing. I really think the work placement hours are very important for gaining the right skills for the job. Northampton College provided the right foundations to allow me to go on and achieve what I have achieved. I thought the hairdressing facilities were fantastic and the support of the tutors was brilliant.”

The college has an unprecedented number of jobs available and is looking to inspire the workforce of the future with the stories of those who have already achieved success. It hopes to engage the services of former apprentices to join its Apprenticeship Alumni scheme that will:

* Raise the aspirations of new apprentices by showing them how far they can go in their careers

* Help those about to complete their apprenticeships with advice on next steps

* Inspire current school and college students to consider an apprenticeship as their next step.

It is planned that former apprentices, with the support of their current employers, will be asked to help put together a plan that will include letting prospective recruits in on the secrets of their success, and what it would have been useful for them to have known when they started out on their own journey.

Alumni will be involved in speaker sessions and engagement activities for school and college students. They will act as ambassadors for Northampton College, host site tours at their workplaces, and feedback on the latest trends in their industry or sector.

Assistant principal James Whybrow said: “There has never been a better time to start an Apprenticeship and we are experiencing a high level of demand for candidates across a range of sectors.

“Apprenticeships are popular because they combine work with study so people can earn while they learn.

“We have got some great success stories of former apprentices like Ashleigh and we would like others to come forward and tell us what they have been doing since they completed their qualifications so we can inspire new recruits.”

The Northamptonshire economy is continuing to thrive but skills remain the hottest topic under discussion by local business, it was confirmed at the first Northampton College Skills Summit earlier this summer. Businesses highlighted the importance of identifying motivated, enthusiastic and well-prepared recruits to fill critical vacancies.

The college is already addressing core employability skills as part of its full-time study programme. James Whybrow urged more businesses to collaborate with colleges to offer work placements that enable students to better understand the expectations they will face when they join the workforce.

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