Shaping Portsmouth’s Apprentice Bus tour of city secondary schools inspires young people to consider apprenticeship path

The Shaping Portsmouth Apprenticeship Bus, which tours the city annually to promote apprenticeships, this week returned to Portsmouth’s roads after cancellations and delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Thanks to the hard work of programme leader Lee Butler and his volunteer team, the Apprenticeship Bus toured the city from Tuesday, April 26 to Thursday, April 28.

Across the three days, the bus stopped off at nine Portsmouth schools where students got to meet current apprentices, hear their stories, and learn more about the apprenticeship path.

The team of local apprentices have been meeting more than 850 students during the tour.

This is ten times the number Shaping Portsmouth reached when the bus first ran in 2018 and double the number it met during the last tour in February 2020.

Stef Nienaltowski, CEO of Shaping Portsmouth, said: ‘Our 2022 Apprenticeship programme is going ahead and despite the delay and COVID restrictions it is going to be, once again, a very important part of our Explore Your Future strategy.

‘Our partners have provided many current apprentices and I know they will inspire the students they will meet next week.

‘I am looking forward to joining the bus at the Queens Hotel on Wednesday, April 27 and celebrating another successful set of visits to our senior schools that offer real advice, guidance and inspiration to the Year 10s and 11s.’

The number of apprentices city organisations have provided to the programme has also risen from six to 59 this current year.