Milton Keynes College Group celebrated its employer partners at its Employer Thank You Event last month. The event on 20th May gave the College Group an opportunity to express a heartfelt thanks to many of its partners, including stakeholders at local, regional and national levels. 

The event reinforced the mutual importance of our partners and organisation, showcased what the College does and how our employer partners can continue to support and get involved in other areas – such as work placements and apprenticeships. 

Our partners contribute to the rich experiences we offer to our apprentices, full-time students, part-time adult learners and colleagues. Our partners bring the skills, knowledge and drive needed to inspire everyone across our campuses, whether in Milton Keynes or our prison education network, and they are essential to our mission.

The event welcomed people from across various sectors, including representatives from John Lewis, F & F Stores, Routeco and Aiimi. The event provided an opportunity for networking and fostering a sense of belonging to the Group, allowing employer partners to share their experiences and motivations for working with us. 

College Group representatives were able to highlight areas of our work that employers may not have been aware of before, including the diversity of our curriculum offer, our work within the community, and how delivering Fairer Futures is central to everything we do. 

Caroline Indge, Head of Partnerships and Innovation at Milton Keynes College Group and one of the event’s organisers, said: “Thank You are two powerful words – it carries a lot of weight for such a simple phrase. It has the power to celebrate, acknowledge and appreciate, and it can improve feelings of value and belonging.

“In some cases, this type of appreciation event can even create a deeper connection between people – it’s a little reminder that their actions truly matter.

“At Milton Keynes College Group we are fortunate to work with a number of businesses and organisations who bring great value to our learners’ journey.” 

If you would like to find out more about becoming an employer partner with Milton Keynes College Group, read more here.

Milton Keynes College Group celebrated its apprentices completing their courses, with a graduation event on Thursday 27^th February at the Ridgeway Centre in Milton Keynes.  

The event saw 40 apprentices covering a wide range of courses including Digital, Business, Finance and Construction collect their course certificates, supported by friends, family and their employers. The event was also attended by Milton Keynes Mayor Marie Bradburn and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Judge Tony Hughes and included performances from Milton Keynes College students Luca Brown and Ella Boetang. 

Awards were also given to apprentices who had gone above and beyond during their time with their employers and the College. The awards were presented by Anna Clarke, Head of Employer Engagement and Partnerships, Sally Alexander, CEO and Group Principal and Sarah Thompson, Head of Apprenticeships, and were given to the following apprentices: 

• Business Award – Ellen Gibbons (Superior Homecare Services Limited) 

• Commis Chef Award – Finnan Keen (Silverstone Circuits) 

• Construction Award – Ben Hambridge (Heyford Park Developments Ltd, part of Dorchester Living) 

• Digital Award – Tamzin Bedford (Toru Interactive Ltd) 

• Engineering Award – Alex Digby (Stokvis Tapes UK Ltd) 

• Finance Award – Samuel Ward-Butler (Panton Accountancy Services Ltd) 

• Hair Professional Award – Vanessa Graziano (Aloha Hair) 

• Inspirational Award  – Kian Hall (Parrott Construction Ltd) 

• Rising Star Award – Mia Hammer (Oracle Red Bull Racing) 

• Contribution Award – Kai Murdoch (Taylor Wimpey South Midlands) 

Charlotte Parkinson, graduating Marketing Apprentice from Aztech IT, commented: “Since completing my apprenticeship through MK College, I’m now a Marketing Executive at Aztec IT. I found the apprenticeship amazing – coming out of university, it was great to go into the outside world straight away. My employer and Milton Keynes College have both been amazing and I’m very happy to be graduating.” 

College Group CEO, Sally Alexander, added: “Our Apprenticeship Graduation event is about recognising the talent in our wonderful graduates like Charlotte, celebrating them and giving them an opportunity to be extremely proud of themselves.  

“Milton Keynes College Group is driven by our Fairer Futures Strategy, which highlights our commitment to delivering aspirational educational programmes, which I know our graduates will all have experienced. We are delighted to have supported our apprentices to develop the skills which are needed within our communities and will support the growth of businesses across the city.  

“We’re very proud of everything our apprentices have achieved, and we wish them the best of luck as they move into the next stage of their very exciting careers”. 

You can find out more about apprenticeship at MK College here Apprenticeships – MK College 

To mark National Apprenticeship Week, MK College Group are showcasing the business benefits of taking on an apprentice.

Companies who want to hire more people but feel priced out of the market by the increase in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) should think about taking on an apprentice and moulding a new staff member for the long term.

Under 25s on apprenticeships earning less than £50,000 per year are exempt from NICs contributions, meaning employers can take on and train people to meet their skills needs.

Anna Clarke, Group Director for Employer Engagement and Partnerships at Milton Keynes College says, “Since the budget we’ve seen a bit of nervousness from some employers when it comes to taking people on because of the increased NICs costs, which is quite understandable when times are tight.  It’s been particularly noticeable in areas like finance and business administration.  What a lot of them don’t realise is that Under 25s are now exempt from NICs, and working with us they can help to shape a young person’s career while embedding them in their own business culture.  Apprentices can bring creativity, energy and new ideas to a business which can make them ideal additions to any team.”

10^th to 16^th of February is National Apprenticeship Week, and this year’s theme is “Skills for Life,” and Anna believes the business-facing apprenticeships offered by the College provide just that.

“The key thing is,” Anna says, “that we can shape the apprenticeship to teach precisely the skills that an employer needs.  For example, if project management is needed, we’ll work through real-life situations that come directly from the employer so the apprentice learns not just about the method, but also the practical reality of how the business works.”

Amelia Peppard is doing an apprenticeship in Business Administration at Huntsmill Farm, the idyllic wedding venue at Shalstone near Milton Keynes.  She says, “I’ve always known I wanted to work in the events industry.  However, being young, I lacked experience and had limited business knowledge. Through this apprenticeship, I have gained valuable skills for the workplace, acquired essential business knowledge, and become familiar with various platforms. This apprenticeship has also supported my personal growth, making me much more confident in my current team and in my communication with different suppliers and couples.”

Emily Fensome is Wedding and Events Manager at Huntsmill Farm, and says, “Hiring Amelia as our first apprentice has been such a rewarding and positive experience.  Not only have we been able to nurture an employee with little experience into a core team member but also take pride in watching Amelia thrive in skills, ability, and confidence.  In an industry where little employment is given to those who don’t have experience, it was great to be able to offer a young individual the opportunity to gain that experience alongside continuing studies.  We would highly recommend the apprenticeship programme to any business that would like to grow with the next generation becoming team players.”

To find out more about taking on an apprentice at your business, please contact employerteam@mkcollege.ac.uk