Exeter College is celebrating the award-winning Apprenticeship success of its partners, employers and Apprentices to mark national ‘Love Our Colleges’ Week.

The ‘Love Our Colleges’ week – which is being coordinated by the Association of Colleges (AoC) during 13-17 May – seeks to highlight the brilliant work that goes on in colleges.

Apprenticeships at outstanding Exeter College have been on a clear upward trajectory in recent years. As the city’s largest provider of Apprenticeships, it has played a key role in Exeter’s brilliant Apprenticeship growth, bucking a national trend of decline.

Indeed, the city of Exeter has topped the table for Apprenticeship starts between 2015/16 and 2017/18, in a recent Centre for Cities report; beating other cities like Oxford and Cambridge, by nearly 50%.

Exeter College recently officially opened a new Apprenticeship and Employment Hub, a city-centre facility that is available to both students and employers, which includes a walk-in clinic and learning space.

Exeter College Apprenticeships Top Five

1. Top 10% nationally for success rates for four consecutive years within Further Education (FE) colleges;

2. Previous Winners of The Times Educational Supplement Apprenticeship programme of the year;

3. Featured by Ofsted in their Apprenticeship best practice video for their approach to employers;

4. Identified as a support college through the Strategic College Improvement Fund to support other Apprenticeship providers;

5. Five years of substantial growth has made Exeter College’s Apprenticeship programme the largest in Devon.

Mike Blakeley, Director of Apprenticeships and Employment Engagement, said: “The changing face of Apprenticeships has led to countless new and exciting opportunities for young people to enter the world of work.

“We are blessed in the region with some of the most innovative and supportive employers when it comes to creating employment opportunities with training.

“No week goes by without new businesses joining the ever-expanding number that makes up the Exeter College’s award-winning Apprenticeship network.

“The investment and support we receive from these businesses are truly staggering and in turn allows us to deliver the exceptional provision employers and young people have come to love.”

John Laramy, Exeter College Principal and Chief Executive, said: “The quality and impact of our Apprenticeship work is a great example of why so many people ‘Love Our Colleges’. I am absolutely delighted that while nationally Apprenticeship growth has fallen, here in Exeter we have seen yet another record breaking year.

“The passion of our employers, the calibre of our Apprentices, and the quality and dedication of our staff has created a magic formula – which has enabled us to buck every trend. I would simply like to say thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of the Apprenticeship programme.