NI Apprenticeship award for SWC and Greiner partnership

A COLLEGE’S partnership with a major local employer has been recognised with a top award.

South West College (SWC) and Greiner Packaging Ltd were revealed as the winners of the Large Employer / Training Provider Partnership Award at the annual Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Awards 2022 during a live-streamed event hosted by presenter Sarah Travers with special guests including former two-weight world champion boxer Carl Frampton and 2021 Apprentice Award Winners Chantelle McDonagh and James Matchett.

Led by the Department for the Economy, the major industry awards are part of NI apprenticeship week and celebrate exceptional apprentices and influential partnerships between employers and training providers that support the continued growth of skills development across Northern Ireland.

SWC, in partnership with Greiner Packaging Ltd, said they were delighted to win and extended their congratulations to all winners and finalists, including SWC nominees Matthew Robinson, an apprentice with EDGE Innovate and  Lewis Barnes from Farrans Construction.

Alastair Booth, who is the Head of Engineering at South West College, said, “This award recognises the strength of our joint vision, collaboration and success over the past decade in relation to apprentice programme and progressions pathways delivery that meet the current and emerging needs of Greiner and the aspiration of Apprentices at all levels.”

The strong collaborative working relationship the two organisations have shared for over a decade, began with the initial development of the Level 3 Gold Engineering Apprenticeship Programme and has since seen 28 apprentices completing the BTEC Level 3 in Engineering.

A key element to the success of this partnership has been the effective communication links between SWC and Greiner Packaging, which ensures apprentices feel supported in their learning experience as well as their personal development and wellbeing.

Maeve Turbitt, from Greiner Packaging, expressed the firm’s delight. “Receiving this award is an acknowledgement of the strong collaborative working relationship which we have with South West College which was established over a decade ago and we are looking forward to continuing to support their initiatives to develop apprenticeships in Northern Ireland not only for our younger generation but also for the business community,” she said.

“We believe that apprenticeships are going to continue to be an important part of our business and industry in the future. Not only do apprentices provide us with a steady resource within our Maintenance and Engineering departments to complete daily tasks, but the programme also provides us with a talent pipeline of skilled engineers for a bespoke industry which we depend on for the future growth within the company.”

Una Taylor, the Engineering Hub Officer at South West College, added, “The apprentice programme offered between us gives students a unique opportunity to gain valuable experience in a busy and thriving work environment while also studying and benefiting from everything SWC lecturers have to offer.”