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Truro & Penwith is top college for apprenticeship achievement across Cornwall and Devon
National data shows apprentices have achieved a success rate of 62.7%, well above the national average of 54.3%
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Published Monday 25 March 2024
The latest national Apprenticeship Achievement Rate data, released by the Department for Education (DfE), has placed Truro and Penwith College as the top college provider of apprenticeships in Cornwall and Devon.
The data, published by the DfE on March 21, 2024, is based on the percentage of apprentices successfully completing their qualifications and shows Truro and Penwith College apprentices have achieved a success rate of 62.7%, well above the national average of 54.3%.
The College’s achievement rate places it not only top across Cornwall and Devon but also as one of the top five college providers of apprenticeship training in the South West.
The news comes a few short months after the DfE announced Truro and Penwith College as Cornwall’s only ‘Apprenticeship Expert’, one of only five FE colleges to have achieved the status across the UK.
Expert status was awarded after the College demonstrated excellence across a strict range of criteria alongside learner achievement including an exceptional employer feedback rating and strong financial health.
The College’s unrivalled quality in apprenticeship training and work with top employers to provide programmes and careers that target local need identified in Cornwall’s Local Skills Improvement Plan, has been reflected in the demand for learner places, resulting in the expansion of facilities and multiple start dates being introduced for many of its apprenticeships throughout the academic year.
In total, 945 apprentices studied at, and were supported by, the College as part of their apprenticeship in the 22/23 academic year.
A commitment to providing learners with the very best facilities and industry expert teaching has been a driving force behind the College’s success. Since 2022 a string of multi-million-pound investments has seen the College open its new Valency building and Electric Vehicle labs providing future-focused facilities in Engineering, Digital and Automotive areas.
The College’s new Bodmin-based STEM and Health Skills Centre opened its doors in September 2023, adding to the state-of-the-art Nursing Simulation Suites at Truro to expand its range of Nursing and Healthcare apprenticeships in East Cornwall, boosting nursing numbers for Cornwall’s NHS, while the facility is also home to hi-tech Engineering and Digital learning spaces.
Development at the College continues with ground breaking on a £1.7 million project to redevelop and expand the capacity of its Construction facilities at Truro College over February half term with the project set to open to students from March 2025.
Links have also been established with Truro’s Langarth Garden Village development just outside the College, that is expected to provide 25-years of work for Construction professionals with the build of up to 3,500 new homes as part of Cornwall’s latest sustainable community.
Development of cutting-edge, future-focused apprenticeship training is expected to continue with the College’s Apprenticeship Expert status providing it with ‘special flexibilities and permissions’ within The Apprenticeship Service (TAS) that make it easier for employers to work in partnership with the College to develop quality careers and training for the future landscape of Cornwall.
Hayley McKinstry, Director of Partnerships and Apprenticeships at Truro and Penwith College, said: “We are delighted to be recognised as Cornwall and Devon’s top college provider of apprenticeship training. I’d like to extend my gratitude and congratulations to our high-achieving apprentices, industry expert teaching teams and top employers for whom this recognition is well deserved.
“The College’s continued work and tenacity to support the needs of the Cornish economy and local businesses while improving the life chances of local people, through quality apprenticeship careers and an unprecedented level of investment in facilities development has all come together to deliver these achievement rates and our Apprenticeship Expert status.
“We strive not only to be the very best in Cornwall and Devon, but to provide our learners with one of the nation’s very best learning experiences and progression opportunities as we prepare them for their future careers”.
Interested learners are invited to discover their future at one of the College’s forthcoming Open Events, with information available at www.truro-penwith.ac.uk/events.
