The latest cohort of 14-16-year-olds who have taken the opportunity to transform their lives through a pioneering vocational career route at Cardiff and Vale College have celebrated successfully completing their courses.
CAVC’s Year 11 Junior Apprentices were joined by friends, family and their tutors to be treated to the first graduation ceremony at the College’s City Centre Campus since the pandemic. The ceremony saw the Year 11s receive their graduation certificates.
This year, 31 Junior Apprentices graduated. All 31 have conditional offers for post-16 courses in a wide range of disciplines from Music Technology through to Hair and Beauty, Sport and Public Services, Construction and Automotive Engineering – three of them being apprenticeships with CAVC Group member ACT.
The graduation also featured an awards ceremony. Sixteen-year-old Dewi Coslett won overall Junior Apprentice of the Year.
Cardiff and Vale College Principal Sharon James said: “Congratulations to all of our latest cohort of Junior Apprentices – you have all worked so hard over two very challenging years to get to where you are today. You have developed and achieved your goals in a way that has been truly inspirational.
“To see that you all will be progressing in your chosen career paths is wonderful. Thank you and to the fantastic team that have worked with you – we are very proud of you all!”
Jointly funded by CAVC, Cardiff Council, Welsh Government and local schools, the Junior Apprenticeship programme is designed to increase the number of young people in the region in education, employment or training. It offers young people the opportunity to study full-time in a college setting under the guidance of industry-qualified teachers in specialist vocational facilities and real work environments while also continuing to sit GCSEs in English and Maths.
Since the programme was launched in 2016 more than 218 Junior Apprentices from 20 schools and people educated out of schools have graduated from the programme. Some 86% of them achieved vocational qualifications, GCSEs and progressed on to further education or employment.