Royal Air Force Museum Short-Listed for National Apprenticeship Award

PRESS RELEASE- The Royal Air Force Museum has beaten off competition from hundreds of entrants to be short-listed for the London final of the National Apprenticeship Awards 2014.The Museum is nominated in “The Nuclear Decommissioning Site Licence Companies Medium Employer of the Year (25 – 249 employees)” category.

 The Museum tells the stories of the RAF and its people from its origins to today by displaying aircraft, weapons and vehicles.  It does this by interpreting the hidden and often very personal stories of Service personnel in order to retell their stories today and to preserve them for the future.   In 2005 the Museum began engineering apprenticeships at the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre at its Cosford site in the West Midlands specifically to preserve Heritage Aviation Hand Skills; it has also offered apprenticeships in Fabrication and Welding as well as Carpentry – all in partnership with City of Wolverhampton College.

More recently at its London site the Museum recruited apprentices to develop skills in motor vehicle engineering frameworks, in partnership with Barnet & Southgate College.  The Museum is currently designing new apprenticeships to help support its First World War projects as preparation for a programme of commemoration and celebration for the RAF Centenary in 2018.  This nomination is in recognition of the Museums work with apprentices across all sites.

 The National Apprenticeship Awards, now in their eleventh year, celebrate the achievements of the country’s most outstanding apprentices and Apprenticeship employers. The award winners will be announced at a ceremony organised by the National Apprenticeship Service which will be held at City Hall on 23^rd September 2014.

 Sue Husband, Executive Director Apprenticeships and Delivery at the Skills Funding Agency said:

“Apprenticeships are thriving in England, and it’s not hard to see why. They offer ambitious young people and adults unrivalled career prospects, and give businesses an exceptional route to grow a highly qualified and motivated workforce.The National Apprenticeship Awards recognise the best of the best and are an excellent opportunity for individuals and employers to gain the credit they richly deserve for investing in their own futures. I am delighted that the Royal Air Force Museum has been short-listed, and would like to congratulate them on this success. All of the finalists should be extremely proud of their achievements.”

 All the London winners will proceed through to a final national judging stage and the highest scoring Apprenticeship employer entries nationally will have the additional honour of featuring in the acclaimed England’s Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list, which will be produced by the National Apprenticeship Service in partnership with City & Guilds.

 The national award winners will be revealed during an awards ceremony at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham on the 13 November 2014. The National Apprenticeship Awards are sponsored by BAE Systems, BT, City & Guilds, Learndirect, Nuclear Decommissioning Site Licence Companies and Unilever.The London awards ceremony will be supported by the Greater London Authority and Veolia.

 Visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk or call 08000 150 600 to find out more about Apprenticeships.

Moreno Aguiari

Born in Milan, Italy, Moreno moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His aviation passion began early, inspired by his uncle, an F-104 Starfighter Crew Chief, and his father, a military traffic controller. Childhood adventures included camping outside military bases and watching planes at Aeroporto Linate. In 1999, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to obtain his commercial pilot license, a move that became permanent. With 24 years in the U.S., he now flies full-time for a Part 91 business aviation company in Atlanta. He is actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force, the D-Day Squadron, and other aviation organizations. He enjoys life with his supportive wife and three wonderful children.

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