For further education colleges, apprenticeships are more than just career pathways. They are partnerships between education and industry that provide an opportunity to prepare people for skilled careers while helping employers develop the workforce they need. Those partnerships only succeed when colleges understand the realities facing employers. Labour markets evolve, technologies change and businesses develop new ways of working. If apprenticeship provision is to remain relevant, further education must continually listen, learn and adapt. Further education colleges, like the College of West Anglia (CWA), are uniquely placed between education and industry. We must balance national standards with local employer needs, ensuring apprentices leave with both technical competence and the behaviours employers value. That means meaningful employer engagement cannot be limited to occasional meetings or feedback forms.
During this year’s Back to the Floor programme, a week-long programme which sees the College’s senior leadership team visit apprentices and employer partners across Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, Principal and CEO David Pomfret met apprentices at Searles Leisure Resort. He saw how apprentices contribute across the business while speaking directly with both learners and managers. He described the experience as an opportunity to understand “the challenges and successes on the ground” and ensure the College continues to deliver high-quality training and strong employer relationships. These sorts of conversations provide insights that cannot always be captured in performance data or surveys.
Across the week, senior leaders experienced the breadth of apprenticeship opportunities supported by CWA. At Buttercups Pre-School, Vice Chair of Governors Jan Feeney saw a Level 2 Nursery Practitioner apprentice applying classroom learning with confidence in an early years setting. At Bespak, a global pharmaceutical company, Vice Principal, Corporate Services, Paul Harrison explored how leadership apprenticeships support workforce development within manufacturing. Further visits during the programme highlighted the range of sectors and roles supported through CWA apprenticeships. Rob Petto, Assistant Principal Funding, Performance and Projects, saw apprentices developing skills within construction at Kier. Kerry Heathcote, CEO / Vice Principal Curriculum and Quality, joined apprentices supporting workforce development in customer service at Setra Wood Products and Paul O’Shea, Assistant Principal - Student Services, saw apprentices applying their learning within engineering at GT Bunning and Sons.
These experiences demonstrate the diversity of apprenticeships available through further education and reinforced an important point - apprenticeships are not one-size-fits-all. They are shaped by the needs of individual employers, sectors and communities. The College of West Anglia works with hundreds of employers across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, supporting apprentices across a wide range of industries. These relationships help the College respond to regional skills shortages and help employers develop the talent they need for future growth. By understanding how businesses operate, colleges can ensure curriculum delivery remains aligned with emerging occupations and local economic priorities. It also helps employers feel confident that apprenticeship programmes are designed around genuine workforce needs.
One of the greatest strengths of further education is its ability to get employers, learners and educators together around a shared goal. Employer engagement is not simply about promoting apprenticeships. It’s about building trust, listening to feedback and continually improving provision through collaboration. For employers, this means having confidence that their training provider understands their business. For apprentices, it means developing the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to succeed in modern workplaces. And for colleges, it means apprenticeship provision remains relevant, responsive and capable of supporting both learners and regional economies.
As workforce needs continue to evolve, the relationship between further education and employers will only become more important.
Initiatives like Back to the Floor remind us that some of the most valuable learning takes place outside the classroom. By spending time alongside apprentices and employer partners, colleges gain the insight needed to shape high-quality apprenticeship provision that benefits businesses, learners and communities alike. For further education, staying connected to the workplace isn’t simply good practice-it’s fundamental to delivering apprenticeships that make a lasting difference.
Written by
Hannah Martin, Marketing Co-ordinator - Communications, College of West Anglia