BOURNEMOUTH and Poole College hosted its annual Apprentices of the Year Awards, celebrating the hard work of its students from the past year.

The event took place at the RNLI College in Poole and saw 15 apprentices receive accolades for their efforts over the last year.

Bournemouth & Poole College is the largest apprenticeship provider in the area and said it experienced an exceptional past year for enrolment.

Between August and October last year, The College saw a 117 percent increase year-on-year, when the national average was 43 percent.

In addition to this, 52 percent of apprentices at Bournemouth & Poole College are in the 16-18 age bracket, whereas nationally the average was 30.8 percent.

Matt Butcher, commercial director at Bournemouth & Poole College, said: “We are incredibly proud of the environment curated for our apprentices here at The College, and our award recipients are testament to that. We do not take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to our recruitment, we work with both the employer and candidate to ensure we maximise the chance of a perfect match. Many of our ex-apprentices are now self-employed, in senior management and progressing steadily in their chosen careers.

“Our increase in enrolments over the past year, especially within 16-18 year-olds, is wonderful to see and we are delighted that more young people are considering an apprenticeship as an alternative to higher education. We hope this trend will continue and we have the opportunity to help pave the way for many more into their dream careers.”

For more information on Bournemouth & Poole College, visit www.thecollege.co.uk.