Apprentices for Everyone! – Hammersmith Academy
May 1, 2025
A whole week of apprentices in school, with every year group having the opportunity to hear from a different apprentice in assembly in the run up to National Apprenticeship Week. We programme the talks to ensure that students hear from a whole range of different sectors as they progress through their school career. In addition, we invite Year 13 students to attend any of the assemblies that they are interested in and to meet the apprentices for advice and info sessions either before or after the assembly.
Our Head of Careers interviews the apprentices in the style of a chat show, using the format to draw out key facts and insights from the young apprentices (thus avoiding some of the anxiety and stress that can come from inexperienced speakers having to stand up and present something in front of a whole theatre of students not much younger than themselves!).
This year’s apprentice guests included two alumni (one pursuing their apprenticeship in tech consultancy and the other as a civil engineer), plus two brilliant apprentices from the motor sport sector sourced by our partners Motor Sport UK, two from the HS2 rail project, two sourced by another partner, the Construction Youth Trust, one in banking that we connected with on LinkedIn and one who is a member of admin staff who completed her apprenticeship at the National Youth Theatre. They had a wealth of stories and details to share and connected powerfully with our young people.
It’s a lot to organise for one week, but 100% worthwhile for building a real understanding of apprenticeships and allowing our young people to connect with role models who look and sound just like them. Definitely one of our most worthwhile careers projects in any year.
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“Jake from Motorsport UK and Heather from Cosworth were both superb: full of enthusiasm, positive energy, insight and excellent explanations for a relatively under-informed Year 9 group. It was an exceptionally successful assembly and I felt that the students went away with a far better idea of why apprenticeships are a great route after GCSE/A-levels. It’s all part of keeping Year 9 motivated and focused on the why of learning, but also a great chance for them to share some knowledge back into their family and community. Thank you for organising!”
Mr Francis (Head of Year 9)
