Hear from our Employers

The Sunseeker Skills Academy stands as a testament to our commitment to nurturing talent and advancing excellence in boatbuilding. Our partnership with Bournemouth and Poole College has not only empowered over 100 newly trained employees but has also significantly enhanced shipyard productivity and efficiency.

Berthon, formed in 1877 has been training apprentices for more than 100 years.  This in-built supply chain of skills is as vital now as it has always been to the continued success of our business. With this in mind we have chosen Bournemouth & Poole College to deliver the important off the job training elements and technical certificates that ensure our apprentices have the right knowledge, skills and behaviours as well as ongoing support to develop and succeed.

Marsham Court Hotel on the East Cliff of Bournemouth, is renowned, and has had a long history of working with Bournemouth and Poole College and taking on apprentices for the hospitality industry for over 25 years. Apprentices undertake 20 percent of their time in college and 80 percent in the workplace whilst on this programme. It’s positive for the apprentices for their personal and intellectual development and for their peer group activities. I’d like to see more hospitality students coming through our doors in the future - they come out with wonderful life and work skills after their studies.

At Parker (Heatric) we have been working for many years with Bournemouth & Poole College to support the attraction and the development of our future Welders. The calibre of our Welders is imperative to our business and through a thorough understanding of our operation, our requirements and our expectations, Bournemouth & Poole College continue to provide an invaluable service to us. This has only been possible due to the strong relationship that has been developed between ourselves and the College Engineering Team through their proactive approach towards maintaining a deep understanding of our operation as our business evolves. 

At Curtiss Wright, we have now worked with apprenticeships programmes at Bournemouth and Poole College for over six years. Our business is comprised of the Aerospace & Industrial, Defense Electronics and Naval & Power segments - so we usually employ apprentices within the engineering and mechanical courses. We have also worked with some apprenticeships in HR (CIPD Apprenticeship), and this coming year, we will employ apprentices in the IT and Business Admin Sectors. We usually take about five apprentices, but have this year are aiming for eight.

The Apprenticeship Manager assigned to our business is very worthy of comment and he thinks ‘out-of-the-box’ to help us to design a tailored, more bespoke programme, to suit us. Furthermore, the Principal, Phil, regularly talks to me and recognises all his employers. He’s very approachable and along with the Director of Engineering, the seamless transition to university courses is commendable.