A success story in building Guernsey
ENCOURAGING to see that demand for apprenticeships in Guernsey remains high as the College of Further Education and The Guernsey Institute move towards marking 75 years of offering training for people entering trades for a career.
Nowadays it runs more than 15 courses and others are being considered. The college saw a 72% increase in sign-ups between 2020 and 2021, with more than 300 islanders, aged between 16 and 54, on courses including hospitality and catering, engineering, horticulture, adult care, early years and the traditional construction and motor trades. Anecdotally, if industry and the college could make it work, there could be even more people, particularly young people, on apprenticeships.
The scheme really does work for Guernsey, as CFE principal Louise Misselke said. ‘Locally they are a really good fit for the community, there are a lot of vacancies in Guernsey and recruitment is a big challenge.’
At a time when the cost of a university education is proving prohibitive for many, getting a head start in a career through an apprenticeship moves careers along, potentially into a higher-earning bracket in the future. And importantly for government, it gets young islanders making a contribution to the economy.