24 feb 2016

Semta scores Babcock top of the class for apprenticeship training ahead of National Apprenticeship Week

World class engineering, training and technical support services company, Babcock, is celebrating after winning Training Partner of the Year at the Semta Annual Skills Awards – just ahead of National Apprenticeship Week in March.

The award of Training Partner of the Year was in recognition of the high calibre training Babcock provides apprentices from major engineering employers such as EDF Energy.

Babcock staved off stiff competition to win the award and last year won Semta’s Skill Champion category. This year’s award was specifically for the achievements led by Babcock’s renowned Portsmouth-based Engineering Academy where it delivers employer-led technical and life skills training to apprentices.

The Engineering Academy currently has over 300 apprentices learning on site, and has trained over 2,000 engineers to date, on three/four-year advanced apprenticeship programmes with the initial training period consisting of a full-time residential programme at HMS Sultan, one of the largest dedicated engineering facilities in Europe.  As well as hands on, practical and technical training, apprentices also learn how to adapt to different workplace environments and take part in a range of activities including sporting, cultural and personal development.

Costi Karayannis, Babcock Director of Energy and Engineering, said: ’Babcock recognises that engineering is a lifeblood of our economy.  This award is in recognition of the dedication, commitment and talent of our trainers and support staff and also highlights the close working relationship we have with our customers. Engineering is a fantastic career to get into and we are delighted our team and our work has been recognised by Semta as a leading STEM organisation.”

Ann Watson, CEO of Semta, said: ’Babcock is fully deserving of this award. Their unique partnership with EDF Energy is turning out highly-skilled, high calibre apprentices who are going on to be first-class engineers.

’I had the privilege of seeing the training in action last year. The life skills element is superb, putting the learners into different cultures, countries and situations, learning to interact and creating new networks. It is a fantastic training environment which is delivering the skills we need for the UK to remain world class in manufacturing.’