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Apprentices saddle up for success
Apprentices saddled up for success with a Learning and Skills Council (LSC) ‘expert class’ in preparing horses for competitions in Kent on Thursday.
Offered as part of the LSC’s ‘From Competence to Excellence’ programme, Hadlow College ran the ‘Equine – Preparing Horses for Competition’ expert class. The learners focused on fitness and monitoring of horses and developing their practical skills and confidence with a variety of equipment and tack.
‘Expert classes’ were held through the South East last week, to give the cream of the crop of this year’s Apprentices the chance to develop advanced skills. The LSC’s ‘From Competence to Excellence’ programme has been running since February and has provided advanced training for just under 5,000 Apprentices.
Michelle Johnston from Hadlow College said: “They have grown in confidence today in a wide range of essential skills and have shown great enthusiasm in taking their skills further. The expert class has raised their career aspirations and given them essential skills to pursue a rewarding career.”
The students were taught to assess and monitor a horse’s fitness levels and worked with equipment including high speed treadmills. The students learned how to fit heart rate monitors, and they took the horses out to do some canter work with them, examining heart rate and respiration in relation to fitness.
In the afternoon the students developed their practical skills and confidence with a variety of equipment and tack used in competitions, including dressage, cross country and show jumping tack, boots and bandaging.
Tony Allen, the LSC’s Area Director for Kent said: “The LSC believes that this programme will help Apprentices and vocational learners to take their skills to world-class levels to move from being competent to excellent. The classes also allow trainers to develop better links with employers and really promote expert skills across a range of industries.”
There are currently 240,000 Apprentices working in over 130,000 organisations in England alone, across 80 different sectors of industry. Apprenticeships are also increasingly being recognised and used as a pathway to university, often part time and with financial support from their employer whilst they continue to work.
The From Competence to Excellence programme is a stepping stone for participants, helping them move from learners to experts. With the UK WorldSkills event on the horizon, some of them may even become future entrants to the UK WorldSkills Event in London in October 2011.
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Notes to editors:
For further information about expert classes please contact Gail Buckle or Kirsty Shaw at BOTTLE PR or go to www.fcte.co.uk
About From Competence to Excellence
From Competence to Excellence is funded by the LSC and supported by UK Skills. Deloitte MCS Limited has been appointed by the LSC to co-ordinate the delivery of the expert classes and to source the employers and training providers involved.
About Learning and Skills Council:
The LSC exists to make England better skilled and more competitive. It is responsible for ensuring the availability of high-quality education and training for everyone. It has a single goal: to improve the skills of England’s young people and adults to world class standards. Its vision is that young people and adults in England have knowledge and skills matching the best in the world and are part of a truly competitive workforce. The LSC works nationally, regionally and locally to deliver this ambition on behalf of learners and employers.
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