Paragon skills for industry

Latest News

Paragon Skills highlights why apprenticeships are a great way to start your career- Many students across the UK are waiting for their GCSE results and face the big decision about what to do next. Apprenticeships are a challenging and rewarding option that offer real-life work experience with the opportunity to learn skills and qualifications that will lead to a successful career. And most importantly, with an apprenticeship you get paid whilst you learn. Apprenticeships are a great way to learn a particular trade and combine work with studying. Paragon Skills for Industry, one of the south’s leading vocational training providers, offers a vast range of apprenticeships in a number of industry sectors, ranging from engineering, marine, motor, care, retail, and many more.

Apprenticeships can last between 1- 4 years, depending on the apprenticeship and the industry sector. As an apprentice, you will work towards a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ), Key Skills qualification and, in most cases, a technical certificate. These are all achieved through assessment and training in the workplace by employers and Paragon’s highly-skilled trainers.

The company prides itself on offering over 2,000 learners excellent opportunities with a variety of employers. One of Paragon Skill’s apprentices is Elaine Medway, who works at DEK, the world’s leading provider of equipment and processes for the high accuracy mass imaging of electronic materials. Elaine, who completed an Engineering Apprenticeship with Paragon Skills, commented: “The training programme has given me a better understanding of the engineering industry and the confidence to put what I have learnt into practice. It has been excellent grounding for me. I have really enjoyed this apprenticeship, along with all the things I’ve learnt. It has also been a lot of fun.”

“With apprenticeships you really do get the best of both worlds,” says John Bradford, Director of Marketing at Paragon Skills. “Apprenticeships are a great option whether you have just left school or are looking for a debt-free alternative to a degree following your A-levels. Being in the workplace allows learners to gain a wide range of skills and knowledge specific to their chosen industry, and in most cases, apprentices start on the same salary as they would be earning if they chose to enter full-time work.”

When thinking about your options, remember that employers value apprentices. More and more companies have decided to take part in apprenticeships, and more places are becoming available across different industry sectors. Paragon Skills works with a variety of big-name employers across the south, including Sunseeker International and Siemens. Gareth Wood, Team Leader of a number of Paragon Skills apprentices at Sunseeker, said: “We have found that working together with Paragon Skills and setting up a training facility has been of great benefit to us. We are currently employing over 30 learners and the progress they have made is excellent. For the learner it gives them a great opportunity to become qualified in a skilled trade. We continue to have new projects starting and will do for the foreseeable future, giving our apprentices fantastic opportunities over the coming years.”

Paragon Skills offers its learners first-class training facilities, which include bespoke garages stocked with the latest equipment used by the motor industry and the latest engineering machinery. The company continues to invest in the facilities it offers learners, ensuring that they match those offered by employers and that its apprenticeships help employees develop the correct skills needed for the business to succeed.

Paragon Skills also offers an Entry to Employment (e2e) course, which gives you the opportunity to try out different careers. This can help you identify your strengths and gives you the time to think and prepare for a career that will really suit you.

The Paragon Skills team can help school leavers decide which career path is right for them, advise them on what day-to-day life is like in the careers they may want to enter and even arrange for them to have a taster session.

For more information visit www.paragonskills.co.uk or call freephone 0800 783 2545.