A NUMBER of young apprentices from Dorset and beyond came together to celebrate the launch of a new apprenticeship network.

The Young Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (YAAN) for the Dorset and Solent region was launched on Wednesday March 7 during National Apprenticeship Week.

YAAN is a national initiative supported by the National Apprenticeship Service. Its aim is to recruit past and present young apprentices across all levels and business areas of apprenticeships to engage with and provide information on apprenticeships, directly to young people, teachers and parents.

The launch event took place at The Apprenticeship Academy of Dorset-based manufacturer Superior.

Apprentices attending the event at Superior were from a variety of companies and sectors including Superior; Francesco Group; BAE; JP Morgan; NHS; Berthon Boats; Bournemouth and Poole College; Savills; Redweb; Ultra Electronics; Fab Frocks; Bournemouth Rugby; Heatric; Hampshire County Council; Liverpool Victoria; and RNLI.

Lauren Turner, an apprentice at Redweb, currently on the Digital Marketing Course at Bournemouth and Poole College, said: “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do and I looked at Uni, but I didn’t want to spend that kind of money on something I wasn’t sure that I would go into as a career. I looked at apprenticeships and now work for Redweb working on national clients within a team, with great training and most of all, experience.”

Dorset and Solent is one of five YAAN sub-regions in the South East region, both chaired by Ben Clarke of Superior.

Mr Clarke, an award-winning past apprentice and senior manager of Superior, said: “The Ambassador Network has a unique role to play in allowing the next generation of school leavers to make informed choices about apprenticeships through information and real experiences shared by young people, for young people. We look forward to recruiting many more ambassadors to represent as many sectors as we can to make this a rich and diverse pool of experience and expertise for schools to draw upon.

“It is fantastic to see so many apprentices coming together in National Apprenticeship Week for the launch, representing so many sectors of our region. Support from their businesses has also been overwhelming; we thank them all.”

The launch of Dorset and Solent YAAN was supported by Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP); Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI); the Careers and Enterprise Company in Dorset.