ALAN Sugar may only hire one apprentice at a time, but nearly 200 Priestley College students have secured work since finishing their studies.
Among the 2014 cohort – who left Priestley in summer – are dozens of young people who achieved apprenticeships at major companies including the NHS, AMEC Nuclear, the BBC, Airbus, Monarch Airlines, Barclays, Lloyds, BAE and Widnes Vikings.
They have started their working lives as trainee dental nurses, rugby players, teaching assistants, engineers, electricians, care home assistants and accountants. Several have gone travelling while the vast majority – nearly 650 – have gone on to further education both at home and abroad.
“At a time when there is still concern about youth unemployment we take great pride in the number of former students who have found apprenticeships and jobs,” said Matthew Grant, Deputy Principal of Priestley College.
“A lot of these jobs and placements have been achieved through the sheer hard work of students and also the strong links that Priestley enjoys with businesses in Warrington and Halton.
“It is vital that young people are prepared for life either at university or in the workplace and I believe this shows Priestley does achieve both for its students.”
Former students have secured a diverse range of jobs including accounts assistant, builders, business administrators, care assistants, chefs, climbing instructors, personal trainers and one is a gymnastics coach.
One is training to become a Royal Marine, another a logistics officer with the RAF while a third is a trainee officer with the Royal Navy.
While 94 have stayed at Priestley to continue their studies, one is now on a football scholarship in Mississippi while two more are studying at a theatre school in Barcelona.
More than 500 are at universities – including Oxford, Cambridge, Lancaster, Durham, Warwick and Aberdeen – studying everything from Neuropsychology to adult nursing, International Business to Russian, Zoology and Counselling.
“These are all success stories involving young people from Warrington and Halton,” said Matthew Grant.
“In a time when there is a still a lot worry in the national economy it is great to hear about so many former students who have gone on to do well for themselves.”
