The National Apprenticeship Service and Ministry of Defence acknowledge high-flying apprentices as part of Centenary commemorations
14/01/2015 National Apprenticeship Service (NAS)
Merseyside shipbuilder Cammell Laird is celebrating after beating off strong competition from three major employers to win the Centenary Apprenticeship Challenge run by the National Apprenticeship Service. Employers who took part in this one-off challenge commemorating the Centenary were asked to restore an important local landmark to show how apprentices have long helped businesses develop a skilled and qualified workforce and to recognise the contribution apprentices have made to employers and the nation over the past century.Cammell Laird's winning team received their award at a prestigious Centenary event on board naval frigate, HMS St Albans, in London. It was presented to them by Philip Dunne MP, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, who congratulated the team on all their hard work.
Attended by dignitaries from Government, the Armed Forces and the business world, the event recognised 100 employers, from multi-nationals through to SMEs that have championed apprentices over the last 100 years. Cammell Laird's work was exhibited at the event alongside projects from Rolls-Royce, Babcock Group International and Lincolnshire Co-op.
Cammell Laird's team of eight apprentices chose to restore the historic HMS Liverpool Bell for the Church of Our Lady and St Nicholas in Liverpool. The team designed and built a bespoke steel and wooden stand for the bell with expert help from the Royal Navy, HMS Liverpool Association and MPE Interiors - who provided them with the right technical advice and support to deliver the project. The stand now enables the Church to continue using the bell as a font during christenings.
Sue Husband, Director of the National Apprenticeship Service, said:
"Apprentices have made an outstanding contribution to the British economy over the last 100 years and will continue to do so. It was fantastic to meet the apprentices from Cammell Laird who worked so hard to restore the HMS Liverpool Bell. Indeed, all the restoration projects completed by the apprentices provided us with a unique opportunity to recognise apprentices who have long helped businesses across England develop a skilled and qualified workforce in their community."
Jonjo Sullivan, Engineering Apprentice, Cammell Laird, said:
"We're delighted to have won the Centenary Apprenticeship Challenge. The whole team was passionate about acknowledging the Centenary and the on-going contribution of apprentices across the country. We all enjoyed the challenge of project managing a complex project to a fixed deadline and it was great to learn new skills from the local partners who helped us build a new stand for the HMS Liverpool Bell so that it can continue being used as a font during christenings."
Danny Hart, HR Manager, Cammell Laird, said:
"We're really proud that the hard work and expertise of our young apprentices is being recognised at a national level. Nearly one in ten of our employees at Cammell Laird is an apprentice and we have a long history of employing, training and developing hundreds of apprentices in, for example, pipe fitting, mechanical engineering and boiler fitting.
"Apprenticeships continually help our business develop the right skills for growth whilst offering young people in Merseyside access to new skills and career opportunities."
For more information, please visit: www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/apprenticeships
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