Students from Vision West Notts set the pace during a charity walk this week.

A group of hairdressing students took part in a fancy dress walk to raise cash for the British Heart Foundation and Breast Cancer Awareness.

Aimee Powell, Sophie Ingleby, Jordan Johnson, Paige Smith and Katie Wood (not pictured) set off from The Academy – the college’s hair and beauty training salon and visited other college sites to collect donations from students.

Learner coach Lee Bunting, who helped the students to prepare for the walk, said: “The learners were very enthusiastic in organising this activity. Through this one activity they raised over £250 for the charities and I’m very proud of their efforts.”

Young people currently not in education, employment or training are being given the opportunity to undertake courses to enhance their employability.

The two-week intensive programmes being offered at Filton College will enable 16-18 year olds to stand out and get noticed by potential employers.

Starting on October 10, the exclusive fast-track programmes include; manual handling, food hygiene, first aid, customer service, sales and driving theory preparation.

The tailor-made courses will also integrate the necessary skills needed at interview, including; CV writing, interview techniques, presentation skills and how to best sell yourself.

The college is also offering every learner on the programme a free outfit. Courtesy of George at ASDA, students will be measured up and kitted out with a brand new suit ready for interview.

Sara-Jane Watkins, Vice Principal comments: “We are now offering a number of short programmes for young people who have some formal education but who now find themselves not in employment, education or training – those unfortunates are patronisingly referred to as NEETS – we refer to these young adults as ‘inbetweeners’. Many of these ‘inbetweeners’ are individuals who have reached the end of their academic education and do not want to, or could not cope with progression to the next academic level.”

One of the world’s leading aviation support service companies enjoyed a smooth landing at Bournemouth and Poole College.

Servisair, which operates aircraft ground support services at Bournemouth International Airport, checked-in with the first crop of bright young students studying on the college’s highflying Aviation course.

The really good news is that the majority on the course can expect to be offered interviews for posts with the company when the course ends.

That’s because Servisair decided to forge direct links with the college after the course was founded.

With nine people on board for the new course, fifty per cent will be guaranteed interviews with Servisair once they’ve completed their 25 weeks at the college.

The company, which has 16,000 employees worldwide and handles millions of aircraft movements globally through its ground support services, has helped design the college course. It leads to a City and Guilds Qualification.

Adrian Martin, head of travel, tourism and sport academy at Bournemouth and Poole College, said: “The aviation industry has a certain charisma and drama and with a locally based company on board with us the sky’s the limit for this course,” said Adrian

John Barber, Servisair Station Manager at Bournemouth Airport is delighted to be involved with the Aviation course.

He said: “Bringing young people into this industry is essential as it gives an energy and vibrancy to the workplace and that results in better service to our customers and the travelling public, we all are looking forward to being a part of this process.”

Scott Elsmore, 20, has been awarded silver at the UK final of SkillBuild – Britain’s biggest construction skills competition.

Scott, who studied plastering at New College Nottingham (ncn), reached the final after competing in the East Midlands regional heat held at ncn Basford Hall earlier this year.

He’s now in the running to represent the UK in the next WorldSkills competition in Leipzig, Germany in 2013.

As the largest multi-trade competition in the UK, SkillBuild covers a wide range of crafts including bricklaying, carpentry, painting and decorating, plastering, roofing, and tiling.

NCN Head of Faculty for Construction, Shaun Hunt, said: “Scott has gone from strength to strength since starting at ncn.

“He has completed his Plastering Diploma Level 2 and 3 with us and is now training to become a Construction Lecturer whilst employed as a Technician at our Basford Hall campus.

“It’s wonderful to see Scott passing on his skills and experience to our current students.”

A team of ten intrepid cyclists from West Suffolk College completed the 45 mile Palace to Palace Challenge from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle in September, raising £1600.

The Palace to Palace Challenge is a fundraising event for the Prince’s Trust.

Team Captain Sherry Fry, Head of School of Participation at the College, said: “The atmosphere was fantastic as 3,000 cyclists took part to raise money for the Prince’s Trust.

“The West Suffolk Wanderers managed to raise a staggering amount of more than £1,600. This was a fantastic achievement.

“All the team had a great time and are keen to do it next year, hopefully with an even bigger team!”

Team West Suffolk Wanderers: Cyclists:  Staff members Sherry Fry, Michael Nelson, Angela Whatley, Angela Gant, Cathy O’Brien, Martyn Wagner, Ola Anderson, Peter Harbron, Tom Thirkettle and Apprentice Will Curtin.

Support team: Sharon Parmiter and Andy McGowan.

 The Prince’s Trust supports over 5,000 young people each year to help improve their life chances. The team of staff involved in the challenge are Further Education professionals who are also dedicated to helping young people raise aspirations and improve their life prospects.

Colleges Week saw students turn the tables on senior staff at Central Sussex College, when the Principal, Dr Russell Strutt, and his Executive Team returned to the classroom to ‘Have a Go’ at learning some new skills.

Dr Strutt and Executive Director for HR and Communications, Jenny Poore, got hot under the collar when they tried their hand at Blacksmithing in their first session and ‘kneaded’ to really pay attention when their second session saw them preparing bread rolls and duchesse potatoes for the College’s training Restaurant, Le Cordon Vert.

Meanwhile Deputy Principals, Suri Araniyasundaran and Adrian Dodwell, donned their tunics and headed off to the College’s Intuition Salon to be taught the art of manicure.  Two brave students were filed, buffed and polished – with mixed results!  Their second session saw them don overalls and work boots and head to the brick workshop where they were taught how to mix and handle mortar, and how to lay a brick wall.

The Colleges Week activity was a real eye-opener for both staff and students, with all four leaders discovering new talents, and the students who taught them showing real expertise and confidence.

World famous chef, Marco Pierre White, impressed and intrigued Hospitality students at Chichester College with stories of his rise within the industry. His calm and measured attitude had students on the edge of their seats to note stern words of advice and inspirational anecdotes.

Marco said: “Luck gives the opportunity and it’s the awareness of mind that lets you take advantage of it.”

His first jobs were low-paid and basic, but gave him critical experience of a working kitchen.

When asked about his thoughts on apprenticeships, he replied: “Apprenticeships are key! You have to get out there and knock on doors, even if you have to work for free.”

On hearing stories from the fine restaurants in Paris and London, Marco’s long-term dream became the achievement of three Michelin stars and five red knives and forks, both the highest accolades in the hospitality industry. Today, only the Ritz has five red knives and forks but no stars.

The chef told students: “Discipline is essential; staying focused. Never give up on your dreams.  It’s all about belief in yourself.”

Following a book-signing, students served lunch for Marco, Hospitality staff and principal, Shelagh Legrave, in the college’s Goodwood Restauarant.

It was a magical experience for the students hosting a culinary legend on the college premises in just the first fortnight of their course – no doubt an occasion that will be a feature on their CVs.

Janet Murray is a freelance education journalist, writing mainly for The Guardian and well as FE Week and the TES. Jan has been freelancing for ten years. She said:  “I found I was getting really busy and having to turn down work, no self employed person wants to do that.

“I thought about hiring a researcher, but decided as an education journalist, who also happens to write an awful lot about apprenticeships… that I ought to really put my money where my mouth is and train somebody on the job.”

Over the years Janet has uncovered lots of myths about apprentices, she said; “There are lots of misconceptions about apprenticeships, the biggest one being that the government pays their wages!”

Janet will be paying her apprentice £6.08 an hour for 30 hours a week: the minimum wage for apprentices is just £2.50 an hour and Janet is hoping that her apprentice will also be able to do her NCTJs whilst training.

After a grueling two-day selection process Janet picked Rhian Jones from a field of 50 young people. Rhian is 22 and has done a variety of customer facing jobs before coming into journalism, and is really raring to go.

Rhian said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for me and I’m so pleased that I managed to stand out from the crowd. I started at Harlow College last week and feel like my feet haven’t touched the ground.

I’ve been blogging for WorldSkills and visited The Guardian offices – it’s all go, and so far, so good.”