West Suffolk College -Bright Sparks

The winners of the Bright Sparks 2008 awards have been announced by the East of England Learning & Skills Council.

 

Fatal Attraction, with hair salons in Sudbury and Colchester, was named Small Employer of the Year. Advanced Plumbing Apprentice Ashley Peace, from East Bergholt, was highly commended in the category of Personal Achiever of the Year. Both are involved with the Apprenticeship programme at West Suffolk College, Bury St Edmunds.

 

The awards were presented by Caroline Neville, Regional Director for the LSC East of England and Stewart White, BBC Look East television news presenter, at a glittering awards ceremony held at the Radisson SAS Hotel, London Stansted Airport at the beginning of May.

 

Fatal Attraction has a company culture that is based around education. Their policy is to take on two new Apprentices every year. They advertise in local schools and colleges and work closely with West Suffolk College.

 

Tracie Webb, co-owner of Fatal Attraction, said: “Our two salons wouldn’t be the success they are today without apprentices. The staff retention is fantastic and our apprentices have gone on to be trainee managers and managers.

 

“We’re a small, family-run business so winning the award means so much to us and is important to the whole team.  We hope that the win will encourage more people to apply for an Apprenticeship and I think it will bring forward high-quality applicants.”

 

Ashley Peace is dyslexic and this has led to setbacks in his learning journey. However, he has been an inspiration to his fellow students and shown great determination to pass his NVQ Level 2 and move onto Level 3.

 

Ashley is doing his Apprenticeship through West Suffolk College, with Trevor Benton Construction Ltd.

 

His perseverance has enabled him to achieve a great deal and, when given the opportunity, he has shone. Ashley said: "I always put 100 per cent into my work and at college, whatever I am asked to do. Yes I have dyslexia, but I never let it hold me back from what I want to achieve."

 

The Apprenticeship Awards are held annually and hosted by the Learning and Skills Council who manage and fund Apprenticeships in England. The awards are designed to recognise the hard work and commitment of young people currently on, or who have recently completed an Apprenticeship and employers who are successfully using Apprenticeships to improve business performance.