April

21

The Princess Royal visits City Training

HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, came to Southampton on Monday (April 20) to attend a special event being held by City Training, part of Southampton City College. The Princess Royal met employers and apprentices from the city and the wider area as she was the guest of honour at the City Training Apprenticeship Presentation Ceremony.

The ceremony, held at St Mary's Stadium, honoured around 150 apprentices, aged 16 to 60, who had completed their studies. The Princess Royal handed out five special awards on the day, three to employers who have gone the extra mile to contribute to their employ-ees’ skills and two more awards to apprentices who have worked particularly hard during their apprenticeship with City Training, which is the largest provider of apprenticeships in the area.

The Princess Royal gave a short speech at the ceremony and told guests: “By signing up to an apprenticeship, it says a lot about your commitment to your own future. For all the apprentices, thank you for taking the opportunity to become apprentices in the first place. This is not a particularly easy moment for employers, but this is the time to invest in the future and training your future workforce, and apprentices will be important to you in the future."

David Murley, Director of Employer Engagement and Managing Director of City Training, said: “It was such an honour for City Training to welcome The Princess Royal and it was a wonderful accolade to all the apprentices who have worked so hard to achieve the goals they have set themselves. It says a great deal about our apprenticeship programmes and we’re thrilled that she visited us. The day was all about celebrating the commitment of ap-prentices and their employers to life-long learning in the workplace, in order for the south to compete nationally and globally.”

It is the second time in just months that a high-profile visitor has visited City Training ap-prentices. In February, Gordon Brown and members of the Cabinet visited City College and spent time talking to motor mechanics and construction students about their appren-ticeships.