Oldham College has been crowned the best for its apprenticeship achievements across Greater Manchester.

The college's apprenticeship achievement rate, which looks at the proportion of leavers successfully passing the whole framework, was 67.6 per cent in 2021/22.

This key indicator is more than 14 per cent above the national average, which fell 4.3 per cent to 53.4 per cent, and puts it in the top spot among all further education colleges across the Greater Manchester city region.

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Its apprenticeship programme has also just received an "excellence in end-point assessment" (EPA) award from City and Guilds due to its 90 per cent first-time pass rate while 43 per cent of its students achieve distinctions and gain positive feedback from their employers.

Oldham College also ensures its students get an additional careers boost through its status as a WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence which sees them participating in national and international competitions.

Now, the college is calling on more employers to take advantage of its expertise.

It is launching a "find tomorrow’s talent today" campaign which asks local businesses to consider creating routes and recruiting more apprentices after new Department for Education (DfE) data showed how its high-quality candidates are bucking national trends.

A new job shop facility has been created on campus as the base with the team already partnering with more than 500 employers on intermediate, advanced and higher-level apprenticeships.

However, the college said many more career openings are urgently needed for local people since apprentice numbers haven't recovered nationally since the pandemic.

This means there are now dozens of 'work ready' and skilled candidates who are waiting for an opportunity, especially in the business and administration, construction, digital, hair and beauty sectors, with hundreds more school leavers set to join them this summer.

Alun Francis, Oldham College principal and chief executive said: “It’s tremendous to see our apprenticeship achievement surpassing the national average – and ranked as the best across Greater Manchester’s FE colleges – but the demand from people to access these opportunities is outstripping the supply of places.

“We’re launching ‘find tomorrow’s talent today’ to find more partner employers and connect them to people with the skills they need now and in the future.

“Our apprentices get a life-changing opportunity of hands-on experience leading to industry-recognised qualifications, but businesses and the local economy benefit just as significantly from the injection of extra productivity, new insights and skills that can give them the edge in a cost-effective way."

The principal said the college assists employers of all sizes with guidance in recruiting the right candidate and tailoring their training.

He added: “If you’re a firm that pays the Apprenticeship Levy, you should be using it to the full as part of your long-term growth strategy to upskill and develop existing staff for succession planning, rather than miss out on investing it.

"If you’re a smaller business, the cap on apprentice numbers has just been scrapped, so you can take more on.

“That’s why we’re encouraging all employers, especially those who haven’t considered apprentices before, to find out how to boost business, upskill your current staff and get access to a pipeline of the best future talent.

"There is nothing to lose from talking to us – and everything to gain from our expertise.”

On Tuesday, May 23, the college is hosting a free business breakfast for employers across all industry sectors to network and meet specialists to discuss apprenticeships, T Levels and work placements.

Registration for the event can be made online and anyone wanting to learn more about taking on an apprentice can visit the Employers section on the college website, email apprenticeships@oldham.ac.uk or call 0161 785 4330.

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