Who is the “Apprentice Team of the Year”?

20 Jun 2013

Who’d have thought being an apprentice could involve fund raising, orienteering and canoeing with your colleagues across a freezing cold lake? Apprentice teams from companies across the country have been doing just that! Finalists of the Bathay Apprentice Challenge 2013 gathered for the final showdown at Lake Windermere. But who was crowned this year’s top team?

Taking on an apprenticeship can involve much more than your work and training – there’s a big focus on your team too.

The Bathay Apprentice Challenge threw down the gauntlet to apprentice teams from some of the country’s top school leaver employers to raise apprenticeship awareness. 90 teams entered the competition overall, running fund raising events across the country and giving talks in schools. The eight finalist teams raised £34,000 for their chosen charities in England, visiting 280 schools in all.

Teams from employers including Unilever, Cobham and Plymouth City Council gathered for the grand final at Lake Windermere, Cumbria. The challenges included orienteering and an epic 10-mile whaler boat race across the lake, pushing their team work skills to the limit.

So who triumphed?

This year’s Apprentice Team of the Year was won by the Innovia Films. The team have done a great deal to raise the profile of apprenticeships; showing school leavers that university isn’t the only option out there.

Aidan Harrison, apprentice at Innovia Films, said: “I’m now at the stage at which I’ll get the qualifications I would have got at university. It shows there are different paths that suit different people.”

You can watch a video of the apprentices in action by clicking here.

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