Milton Keynes College students achieve 'extraordinary' pass rates

Successful former apprentice Stacy Lewis who now works at Jubilee Wood
Primary School — Successful former apprentice Stacy Lewis who now works at Jubilee Wood Primary School

Students on the business administration and customer service courses at the college are achieving the 'distinction' grades, with every pupil passing the course over the last 18 months.

Many students are going on to full employment with the companies at which they’ve trained, a college spokesperson said.

Workplace trainers Nicky Searle and Caroline Marren say their success at helping dozens of apprentices is simply down to hard work.

Caroline said: “We work with a number of awarding bodies and they all interpret the necessary standards in different ways. The only way to absolutely keep on top of what our apprentices need to learn is to go through all the feedback we receive from the awarding bodies in fine detail in every case.

"So long as we can explain to the candidates exactly what’s expected the rest is down to them, and they’ve delivered over and over again. We’re very proud of them."

Apprentices are working in a wide range of businesses and organisations from a stables to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the college said.

Nicky said: “We expect all our apprentices to get distinctions – that’s our starting point. We also expect that they’ll have a good job at the end of it. The employers have had a chance to see what they can do as students spend four days a week at work and just one at college, so I’m not surprised our employment rates are so strong.”

Caroline added: “In the current climate with fears over rising unemployment these apprenticeships are a brilliant route to not just a job but a career, and what they’ve learnt while studying will stand them in good stead throughout their working lives.

“Employers are really engaged and it’s so encouraging to see companies taking pride in their apprentices and reaping the rewards of their training.

"Businesses in Milton Keynes have really woken up to the value of apprenticeships. We work very closely with employers so everything our apprentices learn is relevant to their business, now making them more productive and efficient even while they’re still training.

"They completely understand these people will be key to their future success in difficult times.”