Cornwall Council is celebrating winning this year’s Apprenticeship Games after a fiercely fought competition with the region’s top businesses.
The Cornwall College Group CCB event, held at Duchy College Stoke Climsland, saw businesses and organisations with apprentices battle it out in a range of events testing their mental, physical and creative skills.
Each team took turns at a University Challenge-style quiz round with mascots and buzzers, a mocktail making and gateaux decorating challenge, archery, tractor driving, a blindfold team-building challenge and a military team challenge.
The event for apprentices and their employers across the South West was a welcome and fun addition to National Apprenticeship week, according to The Cornwall College Group Principle Elaine McMahon.
“The Games are about bringing different businesses and apprentices coming together to celebrate their joint understanding of the value of apprenticeships,” she explained.
“Apprenticeships are a great way for people of all ages to earn while they learn, with opportunities to progress to a degree-level qualification.”
The event was also an opportunity for employers and apprentices to showcase the skills they’ve developed so far along their journey.
Technical Manager at Wales & West Utilities, Steve Wright, said “it is great to attend an event like this to celebrate the importance of apprenticeships”.
“The Cornwall College Group provides fantastic support to our apprentices and today has been great fun for all the apprentices to get together,” he added.
Level 2 Horticulture Apprentice at Corserv, Ben Cooperkinnard, said it had been a “really exciting day.”
“It has been great to have the opportunity to do things we don’t get to do on a day to day basis.”
Level 2 Engineering apprentice at MARS Wrigley who finished with silver and won the communication award, Scott Kingston, experienced tractor driving for the first time and was really “proud of the time achieved in the challenge.”
“I really feel our communication skills have improved as a result of the day, I’d definitely love to be involved in this event in the future,” he added.
BD Apprentice, Declan Sinclair, said the team were “really proud to come away with the overall bronze award and leadership award.”
“It was a really good day, we all thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel we learnt a lot about each other as a team.”
Apprentices from Cornwall Council were “thrilled” to come away as overall winners.
Cornwall Council Apprentice, Ellis Skinner, said they really “didn’t expect to win”.
“We didn’t know what to expect at all ahead of the games, we came to have fun and we put 100% into every challenge as a team,” she added.
The day included a networking lunch to give businesses and sponsors the opportunity to engage and share their stories.
As well as the gold, silver and bronze awards up for grabs, the challenges are designed to put the team’s leadership, teamwork and communication skills to the test, with judges awarding those who have best demonstrated these skills on the day.
Teams taking part included BD, MARS Wrigley Ltd, WH Bond and Sons, Cornwall Council, Pall Aerospace, West Pharmaceutical Services, Corserv Ltd, Ocean Housing Group, Pendennis Shipyard, Wales and West Utilities and Whyfield.
These awards were sponsored by Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Skills Hub, Wales and West Utilities and Pirate FM, the main sponsor of the games was the Centre of Housing and Support.
To find out more about apprenticeships at Cornwall College contact CCB Training’s Apprenticeship Recruitment Team on 0330 123 4785.
