The Cork apprenticeship community gathered in Cork College of FET – Bishopstown Campus on Thursday last (25th January) to celebrate the breadth of Generation Apprenticeship talent in Cork.
Nominees and award winners from recent national apprenticeship competitions were invited to Cork College of FET Bishopstown Campus, along with their employers, to pay tribute to their achievement in competing on the national stage.
Apprentices who attended on the evening had participated in Apprentice of the Year and World Skills. 28 Cork apprentices had been nominated for the Apprentice of the Year competition which ran in November 2023, across a range of categories including hairdressing, electrical, property services and manufacturing engineering.
Four Cork apprentices won in their category: Lisa O’Sullivan, who completed her Auctioneering and Property Services Apprenticeship in Cork College of FET- Morrison’s Island Campus in 2023. Nicholas Davis, who has just completed an electrical apprenticeship at ESB Networks, Co. Cork; Kerrie Anne Fitzgerald, undertaking an electrical apprenticeship with Free Foam Building Products, Co Cork. As well as overall winner, Hazel Johnston, undertaking a manufacturing engineering apprenticeship with DePuy Synthes, Co Cork and who studies in Munster Technological University (MTU).
Six Cork apprentices had competed in the World Skills Ireland finals in Dublin in September in plastering, sheet metalworking, hairdressing and pipefitting. Adam McAuliffe of McAuliffe Brothers in Kanturk won in the plastering category and will go on to represent Ireland in the World Skills in Lyon later this year.
GROWTH OF APPRENTICESHIPS
Also celebrating on the evening were the six Cork companies who were nominated for Workplace Champion – an award which highlights the support given to apprentices by their employer during their off the job training, as well as the employers of all nominees for Apprentice of the Year and World Skills Ireland Competitors.
The evening was a chance to reflect on the growth of apprenticeship in Cork. There are currently over 3,000 apprentices registered to Apprenticeship Services in Cork College of FET- Bishopstown Campus and nearly 1,000 employers supporting apprentices in their training across the city and county.
All Cork apprentices are supported by the Apprenticeship Services Department located in Cork College of FET – Bishopstown Camus.
For information on Cork ETB’s FET offering, visit https://www.corketb.ie/fet or for more information on apprenticeships, visit www.apprenticeship.ie
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