Over 30 big industry names gathered at MOD Worthy Down on Thursday, 16 June as the Ministry of Defence announced the appointment of its 150,000th apprentice: Lance Corporal Brown.
The Rt Hon Earl Howe, Minister of State for the Ministry of Defence, presented nineteen-year-old Intelligence Corps apprentice L/Cpl Brown with a certificate to acknowledge the milestone.
Guests at the event – representatives from organisations that make up The 5% Club – took a tour of the facility, meeting apprentices and their trainers from across the MOD’s four services: Royal Air Force, Army, Royal Navy and Civil Service.
The visitors met dog handling, policing, and intelligence apprentices from the Army; Dstl apprentices from the Civil Service; engineering and physical training apprentices from the Royal Navy; and both veteran and new apprentices from the Royal Air Force.
Lunch was served by Food Service Wing apprentices working in the ‘Realistic Working Environment’ restaurant, where they presented and explained their meal to the guests.
The Rt Hon Earl Howe PC said:
“I continue to believe that the training available here at Worthy Down and elsewhere within the Ministry of Defence is second to none, and that such training and apprenticeships make a definite contribution to the world-leading standard of our Armed Forces. I was impressed by the professionalism of those that I met, and the training that they receive is of clear benefit to both such individuals and the Services, as well as assisting in any future transition to civilian life”.
Dr Sam Healy, Group Director for Corporate Responsibility at QinetiQ and programme director of The 5% Club, said:
“This event was an excellent showcase from the UK’s largest apprenticeship provider. The MOD has a long history of investment in training, but a more recent shift toward apprenticeships means learners are equipped with transferable skills that will serve them for life. We are very grateful to the MOD for hosting this event – The opportunity for The 5% Club members to see how the MOD run their programmes and to share best practice is part of the ethos of the campaign”.
L/Cpl Brown worked as a chef before joining the Army in 2014. After progressing through Army Foundation College Harrogate and Army Training Centre Pirbright, he finished Intelligence Corps Operator Military Intelligence Class 3 (OPMI3) training in April 2016, learning core analytical and operational intelligence skills. Since joining the army, he has completed courses in Maths, English, ICT, and the Open Source Intelligence Research and Internet Security (OSIRIS) course.
