A team of nine apprentices from the Liebherr factory in Sunderland have entered the Brathay Apprentice Challenge. They will compete against employers from across England to be crowned “apprentice team of the year 2015”.
The team will be taking part in the regional heats of the challenge that tests team building, leadership, logistical and communication abilities. Throughout the challenges the team will be working on a community project with the Liebherr apprentices helping at “The Salvation Army Southwick Community Project” building a memorial garden. The Liebherr team started its work on the memorial garden on February 11 and aim to have it completed by the beginning of April. A decision on whether the apprentices have made the national finals will be made by May.
The team is further working on awareness-raising activities such as promoting apprenticeships and engineering in local schools. Activities here are hands-on and include a welding booth where the students can try to weld on their own. A business tour for students is also in the planning stages.
In addition to these undertakings, the team have carried out several charity events including a car wash, cake sale and selling old scrap. They also plan to cycle 54 miles from Nenthead back to Sunderland, which they have already promoted on a local radio station. In doing so, the team hope to raise around £2,000 for a local charity called “Team George”.
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