Principal adds a third

The Principal of Furness College has gone head to head with Barrow and Furness’ MP in a battle of skills to launch National Apprenticeship Week which starts today.

Professor Andrew Wren took on Simon Fell MP in a tyre change challenge against the clock in the college’s state-of-the-art motor vehicle workshop.

They went against the clock after specialist motor vehicle lecturer Darren Fine gave them a run-through to brief them on the basics at the £47m Channelside campus.

In a hotly fought contest of sheer concentration, Simon Fell took 2 minutes 11 seconds to complete and Andrew Wren triumphed with 1 minute 53 seconds timed by lecturer and technician John Lamb.

This means Andrew has now won his third challenge in a row, proving it wasn’t third time lucky for Simon but neither were close to Darren who achieved it in 52 seconds, setting a high benchmark.

Gracious in defeat, Simon said it was fantastic to be at college to try his hand at another skill.

“It was great to do this as it highlights how different and complex apprenticeship are,” he said. “Apprenticeships offer an alternate route into employment because you are able to earn while you learn.

“Apprentices are for people of all ages and I would encourage anyone who is interested in a new career to explore apprenticeships and pop to Furness College and see what they can offer you.”

Andrew said the college wanted to do something to mark National Apprenticeship Week to show the range of apprenticeships offered by the college, which trains 700 apprentices each year across more than 20 industry sectors.

“I am looking forward to National Apprenticeship Week and it was a good experience to see a small part of what our motor vehicle apprentices do. It made me realise there’s definitely more to changing a wheel than you think and it was great to have Simon visit for this.”

Lecturer in Engineering Darren Fine, who is a specialist teacher in motor vehicle, said he had been impressed by both contestants.

“A tyre change is one of the first things we get our learners to do, we start on wheels and tyres and punctures and then move onto brakes, we try to get them straight into the practical work and we have a brilliant facility here with a full range of cars to work on.

“There is currently a real demand for motor mechanics around here and we are training 28 apprentices with a further 37 on full-time motor vehicle courses. We teach every aspect of motor vehicle including the electronics as cars are now unbelievably advanced and there is more technology in a new car than in your home.

“I love the students’ enthusiasm and seeing how they progress and it’s nice to share my years of experience working with cars and pass that on.”

Furness College offers apprenticeships in accounting to applied science, business to beauty and barbering, construction to customer services and management to motor vehicle. There are also apprenticeships in early years education, engineering, hairdressing, health and social care, information technology, retail and team leading.

Today the college launches a series of events for National Apprenticeship Week which will include #AskanApprentice where our own apprentices will answer questions on our social media channels. You can follow these across our social media channels using the hashtag #buildthefuture.