Lakes College has been celebrating National Apprenticeship Week with a range of activities for students inspiring them to ‘blaze a trail’.

With over 70 different apprenticeship courses available through the college, and hundreds of apprentices working with employers across Cumbria, Lakes College has taken advantage of the week to focus on highlighting to students the range of apprenticeships available in the community.

A range of employers and organisations visited the college throughout the week including the North West Ambulance Service, CITB, Cumbria Careers Hub, M2 Education and Hello Future.

Students were encouraged to consider an apprenticeship as a career opportunity via talks and presentations. These activities were aimed at broadening students’ mindsets allowing them to learn more about careers and apprenticeships in areas and sectors they may not have considered.

The Army visited the college on Tuesday and gave an exciting presentation on the wide variety of careers and apprenticeships available in the armed forces including nursing, catering and engineering.

James Walker & Co Ltd joined the college on Thursday for an interactive session where students were given the opportunity to create watertight boats using sealants.

Hannah Petrie, learning and development co-ordinator at James Walker said: "I came to Lakes College during National Apprenticeship week to give a presentation to a group of students studying both Engineering and IT qualifications. It is so important to get out there and speak to local students, especially those who are studying a subject that is directly related to what we do as a business. The students at Lakes College were very engaged, and I was so pleased to see some familiar faces stay behind and complete the activity that I had taken along."