This also ties into the Brilliant Futures Pledge that we have for all students and apprentices to engage with during their time at the college.

It was great to see the Autumn Budget put apprenticeships front and centre in terms of some of the policy and funding announcements; fully funded apprenticeship training for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs)  employing younger apprentices is clearly a positive. As always, should you want to discuss your apprenticeship and training needs, please get in touch with the Partnerships Team who would be delighted to work with you.

Our support for the Armed Forces continues; we recently hosted a meeting to share our Armed Forces Covenant journey and provide encouragement for some partners who might be interested in signing the covenant as well. We also look forward to welcoming the Cadets Careers Fair back to the college in February.

After the Christmas break, we will start to gear up towards our February Open Event (12 February 2026) when we will host our Apprenticeship Careers Fair – which coincidentally overlaps with National Apprenticeship Week. This is a great opportunity to showcase your company and recruit your next, excellent, York College based apprentice.

As you can see, this has been a busy term, and the start of 2026 looks to be equally as busy. However, on behalf of everyone at York College, please let me take this moment to wish you the very best for the festive period and a very positive, prosperous, and successful new year. 

Ken Merry,

Principal & Chief Executive

Shaping a Brighter Future

As Director of Marketing and External Partnerships I am so proud to say our partnerships truly are at the heart of everything we do at York College and University Centre. 

Together, we’ve achieved so much - supporting skills development, addressing critical skills gaps, and helping businesses thrive through tailored training and apprenticeships. These collaborations don’t just benefit employers; they enrich the journey of our students and apprentices, giving them real-world experiences, insights, and opportunities that prepare them for successful careers. For T Level students, placement opportunities are a statutory requirement, and your support is essential to help them complete their qualification and gain valuable industry experience.

Looking ahead, there are fantastic opportunities to get involved, including National Apprenticeship Week in February - a key moment to showcase how apprenticeships can transform businesses and careers. Our Partnerships Team is here to discuss your business needs and identify ways we can work together, whether through placements, events or tailored support.

Together, we can continue shaping a brighter future for our region and the next generation of talent. 

Best wishes for the festive season and a very happy New Year from all of us at York College and University Centre. Let’s make 2026 a year of even greater collaboration - get in touch to start the conversation.

Sarah Leatherbarrow,

Director of Marketing and External Partnerships

Aeddan crowned Apprentice of the Year 2025

It's been a wonderful month at York College & University Centre for celebrating student success and the good news just keeps on coming...

This time, it's the turn of Aeddan Bate to shine after he was crowned Apprentice of the Year at The Press York 2025 BUSINESSiQ Awards.

Our Level 2 Furniture Manufacturer apprentice Aeddan is employed by Treske Furniture and he received his award during the presentation ceremony at York Racecourse. 

Well done, Aeddan! We are very proud of your achievement.

We would also like to congratulate all the evening's winners, including VetPartners Limited, who were named Employer of the Year - an award that was sponsored by York College & University Centre and presented by our Principal & Chief Executive Ken Merry.

Stonemasonry Apprentice Alice Eaton, becomes the first winner of the Merchant Adventurers' York College & University Centre Apprentice of the Year award.

A big well done to Alice Eaton, who has become the first winner of the Merchant Adventurers' York College & University Centre Apprentice of the Year award.

Stonemasonry apprentice Alice has excelled during her studies on campus and in the workplace with employer Derbyshire Stonemasonry.

She was presented with her prize by Merchant Adventurers' Deputy Governor, Professor Sarah Brown, Immediate Past Governor, Martin Vander Weyer and York College & University Centre Construction & Engineering Assistant Director, Ashley Stokes at the Merchant Adventurers Hall in Fossgate, where she also received a £500 cash prize.

Alice's fellow shortlisted finalists Christopher Stevenson (Site Supervisor apprentice with Barley Studio), Freddie Carr (Carpentry & Joinery apprentice with Chris Carr Joinery), Ben Statters (Painting & Decorating apprentice with Britcab) and Ryan Edwards (Painting & Decorating apprentice with Bailey Medd Decorators) won £50 each in Amazon vouchers.

All the apprentices and their guests also enjoyed a celebratory Afternoon Tea at the Merchant Adventurers' Hall.

Apprenticeship News - Two New Apprenticeships starting February 2026

York College strives to meet the needs of the local business community and as such review our apprenticeship offer on a regular basis, so we are pleased to announce that we have two new apprenticeship standards available from February 2026. These are the Level 3 Multi-Channel Marketer and the Level 2 Finance/Accounts Assistant.

Other Apprenticeship Opportunities...

Level 3 Laboratory Technician Apprenticeship

Our Level 3 Laboratory Technician Apprenticeship is aimed at your trainee technician and laboratory assistant roles, which can be found within a wide range of industries. The broad purpose of this role will be to carry out both routine and one-off laboratory testing and perform a variety of technical support functions across your organisation.  

If you have employees working within such role/s that you might like to offer the Laboratory Technician Apprenticeship programme to, or you would like to recruit to a new role within your business, please contact our apprenticeships team: apprentices@yorkcollege.ac.uk 

There is an opportunity to study the BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Applied Sciences (Biology Pathway), alongside this apprenticeship programme, cost and entry criteria permitting, if you would like your apprentice to have this included.

If you would like to discuss this apprenticeship programme further, please contact: partnerships@yorkcollege.ac.uk

What We Offer

Our training solutions can be tailored to meet the unique needs of your business and be custom designed to meet your specific training requirements. Subject areas include: Leadership & Management, Microsoft Skills, Business Enhancement, Compliance & Safety, First Aid and Health & Well-being. We can also design Custom Programmes.

With access to a variety of industry experts, we can cover the majority of your training needs. 

Contact the Apprenticeship Team today to find out more about the courses and explore how our corporate training solutions can support your strategic goals apprenticeships@yorkcollege.ac.uk / 01904 770368 Option 1

Employer Advisory Groups

We are extremely grateful to the wide range of organisations and employers who have generously given their time to participate in our Employer Advisory Groups over the past couple of months.

These groups play a vital role in helping us shape our curriculum plan; programme offers, content, and delivery, so that our curriculum offer continues to reflect real industry needs and our students and apprentices come out with the qualification and skills they need for the next stage of their careers.

Through these sessions, we have been able to:

• Discuss recruitment challenges, skills need, and training priorities and explore how the College can support or work toward meeting these needs.

• Gain insight and feedback on current industry developments, workforce trends, and wider sector priorities.

• Provide quick updates on departmental and college developments.

• Share examples of student activities, engagement projects, and enrichment opportunities.

• Explore ways organisations and employers may wish to get involved.

We have an Employer Advisory Group on 20th January 2026, 10.30am at York College, for any business with roles in science, laboratories, scientific research and study.

We also welcome one-to-one conversations with organisations, either in person or online, to discuss our curriculum offer and how we might be able to support your organisation. We can also discuss the range of partnership opportunities we have and how you might be able to engage with our students and apprentices.

If you would like to chat to us, please contact us at: partnerships@yorkcollege.ac.uk

Brilliant Futures Pledge

Following rounds of Employer Advisory Groups, and taking into consideration the UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) key competencies, we have been developing our new Brilliant Futures Pledge.

This is a programme being piloted across the year, this year, to provide students and apprentices with opportunities to develop skills within these key areas:

Students and apprentices will develop these skills in a variety of ways: through their curriculum as they naturally occur; through their personal and professional development sessions, as well as through a range of extra-curricular activities across the college and be able to achieve certification in each area.

We are inviting businesses to endorse one or two of the most crucial skills within your industry and allow us to feature your logo alongside related materials. In addition, we welcome your input in shaping activities under these skills areas. Collaboration ensures that students and apprentices develop skills in ways that are meaningful and aligned with workplace expectations.

Brilliant Futures Pledge Industry Week

Our first Brilliant Futures Pledge Industry Week took place earlier this month and was delivered to over 400 students.

The programme featured keynote sessions from inspiring speakers including Kelly Whitfield, Cai Sherlock and Katriina Mäkinen, who focused on key workplace skills such as self-awareness, communication, and resilience. We also hosted two mornings of ‘speed-interview’ style mock interviews, where businesses from a wide range of industries generously gave their time to support our students and help them build confidence in real-world interview settings.

If you would like to learn more about the Brilliant Futures Pledge and explore how your organisation could get involved, please contact us at: partnerships@yorkcollege.ac.uk

York College Hairdressing & Beauty Competition Day Sponsorship Opportunity

Our annual York College Hairdressing & Beauty Competition Day will be taking place again this year on 2nd February 2026, at York College. This event involves all our Hair & Beauty and Media Make-up Students & Apprentices plus students from our Performance and Production Team too. 

We are inviting business to offer a prize for the first-place award in each of these competition categories:

• Level 1 Hairdressing Students (Full-time)

• Level 1 Beauty (Full-time)

• Level 2 Hairdressing Students (Full-time)

• Level 3 Hairdressing Students (Full-time)

• Level 2 Hairdressing Apprentices

• Level 2 Hair & Media Makeup

• Level 3 Hair & Media Makeup (Body Art)

In previous years we have been offered a range of gift vouchers.

We are offering ‘prize sponsorship’ on a first come basis in terms of choosing your preferred competition category and we would love to do social media promotion, across both our main York College and our college Hair & Beauty media sites, both on the day and following the event. 

All sponsors would be welcome to attend the event on the day or just pop in for part of the day.

We are very much looking forward to another lively and fun day!

If you would like to sponsor a category, please contact us at: partnerships@yorkcollege.ac.uk

Other Sponsorship Opportunities for You

We are pleased to offer a range of partner sponsorship opportunities that allow organisations to support our students, celebrate success, and build strong links with future talent.

Our sponsorship opportunities include:

• Event Sponsorship - Support key events such as our REACH Awards, Construction Awards and Graduation Awards, where we celebrate the achievements of our students and apprentices.

• College Sports Sponsorship - Sponsor team kits, events, training, or specialist equipment for our college sports teams and athletes.

• Partnership Display Opportunities - Promote your organisation through branded displays around the College or within specialist areas linked to your industry.

• Tailored Promotional Packages - Work with us to create a sponsorship package designed specifically for your organisation and relevant curriculum areas.

If you would like to hear more about our sponsorship opportunities contact us at: partnerships@yorkcollege.ac.uk