The gauntlet has been thrown down to businesses, training providers and colleges
to compete for the title of apprentice team of 2013 which opens for nominations this
week.
The competition will see aerospace firm Cobham and MBDA Missile Systems
defending their crowns as winners and runners up respectively.
Employers including Capgemini, E.ON, Metroline, Persona HR, Sellafield and Virgin
Media have already committed to enter the Brathay Apprentice Challenge (#BAC13).
And the Challenge will also be open to small businesses in 2013, that can form
teams based on a supply chain, industry sector or who all use the same training
provider or college.
Nick Shipp, team captain of the 2012 winners, Cobham, said, "last year was a really
tough competition, but every apprentice who took part got a great deal from it. We're
all still really proud of our achievement, not only at the finals in Cumbria, but also in
raising £4,000 for the Make A Wish Foundation as part of the competition."
And it is this achievement that is the real reason behind staging the Challenge, with
the support of the National Apprenticeship Service.
Throughout the Challenge the individual members of each team need to demonstrate
the same work skills and qualities that are required to be successful in their
organisations and progress their careers - and are skills valued by businesses as the
key to their success.
These six qualities are summed up by what I believe should be a mission statement
for apprentices in all workplaces; ASPIRE or Ambition, Strategy, Planning,
Interaction, Reflection and Empathy.
By building the search for the apprentice team of the year on these solid principles,
we can set tasks which develop the whole person and the whole team - and which
can be fairly assessed by the organisers.
And this approach also means that through the tasks teams complete as part of
the Challenge, apprentices develop as individuals thereby making an even bigger
contribution to their employer's growth. Just by taking part, we aim to provide
competitors with a transformative and challenging opportunity to test and develop
their mental and work skills against peers from other organisations.
The Challenge not only demonstrates the quality of apprentices and the
huge contribution apprentices make to their employer's success, but is an
active demonstration of how proud the country's employers are in their apprentices.
Now in its second year, the nationwide competition is now open for
formal nominations until 1st February, with regional heats taking place
throughout February and March 2013.
The top two teams from each of the four regions (North, Central, London and South
East, South West) will then battle it out to be crowned the apprentice team of the
year with the competition culminating in an adventure challenge at the Brathay
Trust's Windermere headquarters from 10th to 12th June 2013.
For more information on the Brathay Apprentice Challenge and to apply, visit http://
bit.ly/BAC13Launch.