Friday 28th February, 2.30pm
Blue Seminar Room, (sponsored by FE Week)
“Pre-apprenticeships: a gateway to employment”
In 1995 Geoff O’Neil was employed as bus driver until a traffic accident ended his driving career. He join Newcastle College as a mature computing student in 1998, unsure what he wanted to do but realising that computing skills would get him something! After developing websites and networks for a number of organisations, he became a lecturer at Newcastle College within the Computing and Digital Skills curriculum areas. As an “outstanding” teacher and successful curriculum manager his aim has always been to get his students jobs and raise their economic and social opportunities.He became the director of the newly formed Digital Skills Academy at the College, in 2012. The Academy was formed to help meet the digital skills agenda for the North East and is establishing partnerships and industry links to ensure their students are industry ready. Becoming a member of the National Skills Academy for IT in 2012, work began with e-skills to develop a pre-apprenticeship programme to provide an employment gateway for students. This pre-apprenticeship programme is just the beginning of a journey which includes advanced and higher apprenticeship programmes to meet the needs of the region.
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