On Friday 22nd November, Southern Regional College welcomed over 100 attendees to a Celebration Event which marked 10 years of Higher Level Apprenticeships at SRC and the creation of over 1,200 jobs to date.

Attendees got to hear from a panel of employers and ‘Apprentice Ambassadors’, some past and present Higher Level Apprentices.

Representing our Higher Level Apprentices were:

  • Jill Saunders (Applied Industrial Sciences graduate)
  • Zara Malcolmson (Accounting Technicians graduate)
  • Conor Cunningham (current Level 6 Construction HLA)
  • Wendy Hanna (current Digital Marketing, Advertising & Communications HLA)

Our ambassadors shared with attendees their HLA journeys and the opportunities they have been able to take advantage of as a result.

We were then delighted to be joined by our employer panel:

  • Judith Gibson (HR Officer, Hyster-Yale)
  • Niamh Matthews (HR Manager, McGuinness Mechanical)
  • Ashling O’Hanlon (Service Delivery Manager, First Derivative)
  • Thomas Vint (Director, SM Vint)

Our panel discussed the ease of recruiting HLAs with SRC, how they retain their HLAs and mentoring & building for the future.

Recruitment of Higher Level Apprentices was officially launched for 2025 and employers can register their vacancies for September 2025 recruitment here: https://portals2.src.ac.uk/hla

It was a great opportunity for networking and reinforcing and building future partnerships.

Tracy Rice, Head of Business Engagement at SRC commented,

“SRC is delighted to mark this milestone, celebrating 10 years of success with Higher Level Apprentices. Over 1200 jobs have been created with local employers over the last 10 years and it was wonderful to hear some of the amazing success stories of past HLAs and how this pathway has helped to shape the exciting careers they have today. The College continues to invest in this programme and looks forward to another 10 years of success!”