Total People is offering 16-18 year olds £50 and the opportunity to make a short film about life in Crewe.

We’re lookng for 16-18 year olds who are not in full-time employment or education and want to share their views on life in the Crewe area.

With youth unemployment at an all time high, we want to help you make a short film and send it to the Government, giving them a real insight into how difficult being young and unemployed is.

Having spoken to a number of young people already, we know that the lack of opportunities facing young people is the number one topic with regards to youth unemployment; you want to know where the jobs are going to come from to give you the opportunity to gain the skills and experience employers are looking for.

What are we looking for?

As the film is looking at 16-18 year olds who are not in full-time employment or education, the idea is that we split the group up into 3 with each group focusing on one of the below.

• What were you doing before
• What does your day to day life involve
• What are your hopes for the future

You do not have to be in front of the camera to get involved or even have any experience of film or media, all we need is your ideas, your thoughts and your enthusiasm.

Our aim is to put this video in front of the Prime Minister and the Government so we want to promote this video as much as possible with your help.

We’ll give you £50

Everyone who gets involved in this project will be given £50 cash, lunch as well as covering your travel costs.

Get involved, complete the form below

Places are limited so book your place on the project now.

Joakima jumps clear at the Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham

One of Total People’s learners has marked the end of the 2011 season with a tremendous performace at the Horse of the Year Show in October at the NEC, Birmingham.

Joakima Ashmore, from Somerford in Cheshire, qualified at HOYS and impressed judges with a series of clear rounds on Alice.

It marks the end of a hugely successful season for Joakima who was selected for The English Working Hunter team in August as well as winning four national titles in the Summer Championships, one of
which was the Desert Orchid Classic where Joakima was the only competitor to go clear and become champion of champions.

She works freelance from her family owned yard and is currently on an Equestrian Apprenticeship with Total People.

We wish her well for the forthcoming season!

Cheshire East Council’s Apprenticeship Scheme, the A-Team, has been recognised by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) as an outstanding programme for the development of young people.

Senior Organisational Development Officer, Ben Whitter, together with a number of their Apprentices, were invited to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium on 15th November to share their success story and best practices with other Councils from the North.

Rachel Bradshaw, Ryan Freeman, Daniel Band and Amy Rowe alongside Ben Whitter

Members of the Council’s A-Team programme gave a lesson in how to provide top-class, on-the-job training for young people.

It was part of the biggest-ever gathering of councils to explore Apprenticeships called ‘Sharing Best Practice in Local Government approaches to Apprenticeships’ and enabled delegates to attend a series workshops to help them improve their own schemes.

‘Inspiring Apprenticeships’

Councillor Peter Mason, Cabinet member with responsibility for procurement and shared services, said:

“Cheshire East was asked to pass on its experience and knowledge to other councils to improve apprenticeships and share knowledge of what makes a successful scheme.”

“This event consolidated the A-Team’s status as a leading Apprenticeship scheme in the UK, giving us national recognition – I would like to congratulate the work of our human resources department in building such an outstanding scheme.”

Councillor Peter Mason, Cabinet member

“Our overarching philosophy is ‘inspiring Apprenticeships’ – to try and get as many people and organisations involved in our scheme and apprenticeships as a whole.”

Council’s Involvement

Workshops took place throughout the event with a large focus on sharing best practices in delivering a good Apprenticeship programme within a council organisation.

Cheshire East’s workshop was based on ‘Apprenticeships developing innovative approaches and initiatives.’

This included a presentation from the Ben Whitter, activities and talks from A-Team apprentices about their personal experiences and a question and answer session.

The A-Team’s workshop attracted more than 65 people and was given extremely positive feedback. The team will now provide a consultancy service to other councils to help them to develop their own schemes.

Cheshire East Council currently work in partnership with Total People to deliver Apprenticeships which include Accountancy, Health and Social Care, Business & Administration and Customer Service.

Find out more about the A-Team and the emergent Apprenticeship scheme.

If you are a manager of a setting within the Childcare industry, would you be interested in taking on an Apprentice?

We’re seeking local employers who would be willing to recruit a young person in partnership with Total People.

This can either be on a permanent or fixed term contract for nine months for a minimum of 30 hours a week.

This includes three days per week within the setting and one day per week off-the-job at a Total People training centre.

Benefits of Recruiting an Apprentice

• Gain an enthusiastic member of staff who is keen to start their career in Childcare
• Fully structured training programme funded through Total People
• Apprentices are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage and only need to be paid a minimum of £2.60 an hour
• Apprentices aged over 17 can be included in staff ratios
• Full support is available throughout with Total People including funding
• Ensure your setting has a qualified workforce in line with Ofsted regulations

We offer this apprenticeship at both level 2 and level 3 in order to fit in with the Government’s proposed aim for everyone working in Early Years provision to have a full and relevant qualification of at least Level 3 by 2015.

Apprentices are enthusiastic and committed

Additional Information

Apprentices will be working towards their Level 2 Certificate for the Children and Young People’s Workforce (QCF). They will also gain a Paediatric First Aid Certificate, focus on Health and Safety and Safeguarding regulations.

A Total People Training Adviser will be assigned to your Apprentice and will visit them every 4 weeks to carry out on-the-job assessments, observations and reviews of their progress.

Total People’s Childcare team is made up of 24 Training Advisers and Assessors who have all previously worked in the industry. The team provide support and guidance for Apprentices throughout their training programme.

View programme content.

Free Recruitment Service Available

If you would like to raise a vacancy, Total People can advertise it for free on the National Apprenticeship Service’s Website.

In order to ensure you are presented with a high standard of potential employees, Total People can work with you to filter applications, process all successful and unsuccessful applications and help you in organising interviews for candidates if desired.

Want to find out more?

Please complete the form below and one of our Childcare team will be in touch with you very soon.

For anyone that’s currently weighing up their career options, particularly if you’re studying A-Levels or in Year 11, you may wonder whether choosing an Apprenticeship closes the door on University.

The answer is simple. You can progress onto University after achieving an Apprenticeship!

This is demonstrated by yet another one of Total People’s learners who has used work-based learning as a stepping stone to Higher Education.

Natalie Conlon completed her Level 2 and 3 Apprenticeship in Business and Administration and has recently started a part time degree at Liverpool John Moores University.

Like Natalie, you too can earn, learn and qualify with Total People!

She works within the NHS and has two part time jobs equating to full time hours.

“I am a Community Nursing Clerk and also work at the Royal Liverpool Hospital,” says Natalie who is studying a Business and Human Resource Management course.

“I wouldn’t be where I am now without the previous experiences that my Apprenticeship gave me.”

Why Apprenticeships?

“Apprenticeships are the perfect way to learn and develop in your career. The combination of working within an organisation and gaining a qualification relevant to that made things clearer and enabled me to learn on a professional basis.”

“I was able to apply situations and scenarios I had encountered in the workplace to my qualification and I found that I was gaining a greater understanding through practical learning.”

Team Leader, Christine Coughlin, recognises the impact that work based training has had on Natalie’s performance, work ethic and willingness to learn.

“The combination of working within an organisation and gaining a qualification relevant to that made things clearer and enabled me to learn on a professional basis.”

Natalie Conlon

“Natalie is a very ambitious individual who, since joining our team, has been self-motivated and willing to learn. She wanted to do work based qualifications to further herself and is now seeing the rewards for her hard work.”

Learning whilst working

Natalie attends University on an evening basis, demonstrating her dedication and commitment in order to achieve her goals. This enables her to continue to gain experience, earn money as well as ensuring her qualification is relevant to her job.

After completing her four year degree, Natalie hopes to eventually progress into training herself.

Got a question? Enquire below and we’ll get back to you!

At Total People, we are always keen to learn more about the people and businesses we work with, that’s why we want to follow you on Twitter. All you need to do is complete the form below and we’ll follow you!

It’s thats simple.

We look forward to reading your tweets.

Are you aged 16-18 and looking to kick start your career? Perhaps you’re not currently in education or work but are keen to do something that can help you progress onto an Apprenticeship.

If so, we’ve got courses running this month where you can:

• Gain workplace skills
• Achieve recognised qualifications
• Improve employment opportunities

What is it?

Pathways to Apprenticeships is a training programme available to 16-18 year olds in Crewe, Middlewich, Macclesfield and surrounding areas.

It is designed to help prepare you for the Apprenticeship you really want.

As well as choosing a Pathway, you’ll gain Employability Skills which will help you secure your dream career.

How does it work?

There’s a variety of options available to you at first.

You can choose from a range of 1-2 day short courses below, and/or progress directly onto a ‘Pathway’ which is a level 1 qualification in the vocational area of your choice. 

Short Courses

• Getting a Job
• Health & Safety at Work
• Manual Handling
• Customer Service
• Hospitality Customer Service
• Conflict Handling

Pathways available:

What qualifications will I get?

You’ll be working towards an Award, Certifcate and/or Diploma in your chosen Pathway. You could also improve your Maths, English and ICT and achieve qualifications which will look great when applying for jobs!

Forthcoming Courses

• Tuesday 29th November 2011 – Burford House, Crewe
• Wednesday 30th November 2011 – Sovereign Court, Macclesfield

Want to know more?

Contact our friendly team on 01270 251493 or complete the booking form below to guarantee your place!

Shortly after Meghann Brownjohn resumed her A-Levels following her summer break, she started to have doubts as to whether or not it was the best route for her.

She began to explore her options and discovered the advantages in starting an Apprenticeship.

Meghann would recommend Apprenticeships to anyone currently doing A-Levels

“I liked the idea of earning whilst I learnt as well as continuing in my education so I went onto the Apprenticeships website and registered on the vacancies section,” says Meghann.

Breakthrough

“After browsing through local vacancies, I applied for a position with Rapierstar near Macclesfield, who provide screws and fixings for the window industry, and successfully got the job!”

“This is my first proper job so leaving full time education was a big step but I have learnt so much already and grown up as a person so I have no doubt it was the right thing to do.”

Meghann Brownjohn, Sales & Purchasing for Rapierstar

Meghann demonstrated her ability to learn quickly and soon became a key member of their sales and purchasing department where she is involved in the buying and selling of materials.

“I am the first point of contact for a lot of our customers so it is important that I communicate professionally with them as well as dealing with their enquiries. I am also working towards an Apprenticeship in Customer Service which has provided me with the knowledge and skills which I can apply to my job.”

Perseverance

Meghann admits to having reservations shortly after leaving Sixth Form but the support and guidance shown by her employer and her Training Adviser from Total People enabled her to settle in within no time.

“This is my first proper job so leaving full time education was a big step but I have learnt so much already and grown up as a person so I have no doubt it was the right thing to do.”

“I would advise any young person to consider doing an Apprenticeship. If you’re studying A-Levels but not enjoying it, it’s definitely worth you while searching for a job with training.”

“For me it has developed my confidence, overall communication skills and I have the work experience as well as relevant qualifications. I have come so far in less than a year and I am near to completing my qualification.”

Meghann and her employer are keen for her to progress onto a Level 3 qualification in order for her to continue with her development.

Rapierstar is committed to developing their workforce and are currently working with Total People to train staff in both Customer Service and Warehousing.

Steph Phrophett is a Senior Stylist at TPL Hairdressing’s salon in Crewe. After working with Total People, Steph is a fully qualified hairdresser who was awarded Bronze in the Young Talent Category at the Wella Trend Vision UK final in London.

Steph became an Apprentice in 2002 and now is training other learners at the TPL Training School in Nantwich.

Senior stylist Steph Prophett from TPL Hairdressing’s Crewe salon won the Bronze Award in the Young Talent Category at the Wella Trend Vision UK final in London.

Steph started work at the Nantwich Road salon as an apprentice in 2002 and is currently also a trainer in the TPL Training School at Nantwich.

She said: “It was an incredible experience to be at the final. I loved each minute of it and can’t pass the time for next year. For now, though, my feet are still off the ground and I’m enjoying the glory!”

Steph’s winning trend-driven signature design is said to celebrate the ‘power of women and of assertive, audacious femininity through sleek, refined codes and sculptural contrasts’.

The model for the regional and national finals, Jordanna, is a new apprentice at TPL Hairdressing and Steph was assisted by Maz, a graduate stylist who moves between the company’s Crewe and Alsager salons.

Total People has been delivering Maths and English classes to adults in the workplace for several years, with high success rates. We’re now delighted to be able to offer the same service to unemployed adults, starting with Maths classes.

The courses allow learners to brush up their Maths skills while gaining qualifications recognised by employers and colleges alike. In most cases our learners grow in confidence in areas such as:

• Helping children with their homework
• Budgeting
• Taking their education further and returning to the workplace

At Total People we have tutors who will teach Maths your way, at your pace, and to suit your needs.

Improving your Maths can bring lots of benefits to you!

We want you to enjoy your learning, so we’ll tailor it to make sure that you do. We can’t guarantee to make fractions fun, but we can help take away the fear.

At no cost, we’re running a new 12 week course where you can gain a recognised qualification in Maths.

Each session will last approximately 2-3 hours and will provide you with support in the most common forms of maths.

Come along, meet new people and gain in confidence!

If you are interested, please complete the form below and a member of our team will be in touch.