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From jamie.goodwin@hullcc.gov.uk | Friday 14 February 2020

Sixth form students get inside track on sought-after training roles with many of the area’s best employers.

Spencer Group Engineer Thomas Inglis speaking with Ron Dearing UTC students at the Apprenticeships Expo

Hull's pioneering Ron Dearing University Technical College (UTC) held its second annual Apprenticeships Expo, giving students the chance find out about potential career opportunities.

The event was again organised by Ron Dearing UTC partner employer, recruitment specialist Emmerson Kitney, and more than a dozen businesses including Spencer Group, Swift, Groupe Atlantic and Sypro.

Sixth form students due to leave Hull’s pioneering digital technology and engineering school this summer were given the inside track on sought-after training roles with many of the area’s best employers.

Spencer Group, one of the school’s founding partners, has 14 apprentices who joined the Hull-based engineering business from the UTC and four of them attended the expo to talk to students about their own positive experiences.

Engineer Thomas Inglis said: “We brought our own apprentices so the students could relate to them.

“We have an idea of how many apprentices we want to take on this year, but if we find extraordinarily high talent in the group leaving the school, we will take more on. Last year we didn’t intend on taking on 14 but the students were of such a high standard that we decided we would.

“The students here are very talented and enthusiastic.”

More than 200 students who will leave Ron Dearing UTC in July attended the event. Students from Year 11 were also given the opportunity to speak to employers, to enable them to start thinking about their next move at an early stage.

Maria Shepherd of Groupe Atlantic, the parent company of Hull-based Ideal Boilers, said: “We want to make sure local talent stays with us and the digital focus here at Ron Dearing really links in with our research and development teams.

“The facilities here are state-of-the-art. They are second to none.”

Sam Caley, joint head of sixth form, said: “We’re really focused on the progression routes for our students once they leave.

“We specialise in this area and all the companies represented here know we work with our students to ensure they have excellent employability skills.”