PepsiCo win the title of apprentice team of the year
13 Jun 2014 12:57 PM
After a rigorous 6
months the Brathay Apprentice Challenge 2014 has come to an end, with PepsiCo
being named apprentice team of the year.
The PepsiCo team was made up of
apprentices from Coventry, Leicester and Skelmersdale. They raised over
£7,000 for Cancer Research UK and completed a community project which
included transforming a pond, allotment and garden at a school in
Leicester.
The 8 teams that took part in
the challenge raised over £30,000 for eight charities as well as holding
school talks and media interviews to explain how Apprenticeships enable young
people to earn while they learn in a paid job, gaining recognised
qualifications and working towards a prosperous future.
Supported by the National
Apprenticeship Service, the Brathay Apprentice Challenge tests non-technical
work skills and the personal attributes of competing
apprentices.
The final stage, held at Brathay
Trust’s headquarters on the banks of Lake Windermere saw PepsiCo narrowly
beat QinetiQ into second place, with British Airways and e2v Technologies who
finished joint third.
The two-day long adventure
finale in Ambleside tested the teams ‘soft skills’ including,
problem solving and physical abilities, culminating in a whaler boat race
across Lake Windermere that pushed the teams’ strength and teamwork to
the limit.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg
said: “I want to congratulate the winners and all of the competitors in
the Brathay Apprentice Challenge. “Together they have shown the genuine
difference an Apprenticeship can make to give young people the chance to pursue
a dream job as well as helping a business grow and increase its
productivity.
“It is important that we
work together to encourage even more businesses to offer Apprenticeships so we
can ensure Britain’s long term success, building a stronger economy and
fairer society for this generation and the next.”
Nick Wilson Deputy Director,
Skills Funding Agency said: “The competition this year has produced yet
another outstanding group of talented and inspiring individuals. Well done to
all the finalists that took part in this year’s competition, over 100
teams participated, so to be one of the 8 finalists is a fantastic
success.
“However, my
congratulations to the nine Apprentices from PepsiCo who have won the 2014
Apprentice Team of the Year, their efforts across the whole competition were
amazing and they are deserved winners!”
Team member and engineering
apprentice, Sam Kelly, said on winning the Challenge: “It’s
difficult to describe just what winning the ‘apprentice team of the
year’ title means. The whole team has worked really hard, not only in the
last few days but throughout the whole Challenge – and we’ve had
huge support from our colleagues, our families and friends.
“We hope that winning the
title will aid in our efforts to inspire young people and promote
Apprenticeships. Hard work, determination and self-confidence are key in
success. We also hope that young people can use our journey as a lesson for
themselves.”
To find out about
Apprenticeships visit apprenticeships.org.uk or call 08000 150 600.