On the 15th September, the Science Apprenticeship Forum delivered the first national conference dedicated to science apprentices, with the theme of ‘From Apprenticeship to impact‘.

The event took place at the Jubilee Conference Centre – University of Nottingham, with both in-person and online attendance.  The conference was supported by:

Venue Sponsors:

• MI Talent
• University of Nottingham

Poster competition sponsor:

• Tiro

Organising partners

• Science Apprenticeship Forum
• Royal Society of Chemistry
• Science Council

Travel bursary sponsors

• Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
• Institute of Physics
• Institute of Science and Technology
• University of Kent
• Manchester Metropolitan University
• Marshall Assessment
• SIAS

Organising Committee (as pictured):

• Alexandra Cummings, Analytical Automation Degree Apprentice, AZ
• Erin Maciejewski, Associate Scientist- Process Chemistry, GSK
• Katie Dryden-Holt MRSC, Vocational Skills Programme Manager, RSC
• Tom Cheek MSET QTLS, Apprenticeship Lead, Science Council
• Tom Scott, Laboratory technician, Orbia Polymer Solutions (Alphagary)
• Tyler Harvey-Cowlishaw AMRSB MIScT RSci, Laboratory technician, University of Nottingham and
  Chair of The Science Apprenticeship Forum
• Hilary Jeffreys BSc CSci CChem FRSC, Chair of the Registration Authority, Science Council (Chair for the conference)

A good number of organisations also attended as exhibitors, including the Science Council members the Royal Society of Biology, Institute of Biomedical Science and Royal Society of Chemistry.

The event programme included:

• End point assessment presentations from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education IfATE
• End point assessment preparation workshops from SIAS and Marshall Assessment
• Professional registration workshop from the Science Council
• Focus groups with the Education and Training Foundation ETF
• Keynote speech from Kelly Vere MBE – Director of Technical Strategy, University of Nottingham; Programme Director,
  Technician Commitment; Principal Investigator, MI Talent
• Apprentice Panel Discussion
• Career planning for apprentices from MI Talent
• Confidence in presenting from MI Talent
• Poster competition
• Networking opportunities

It was brilliant to see so many apprentices sharing their experiences and approaches to how they progress in both their apprenticeship and professional careers.  The face-to-face networking offered valuable opportunity to widen the apprenticeship learning experience, listening to other perspectives and approaches.  During the apprenticeship panel session, lots of useful hints and tips were shared on topics such as time management, preparing for success (EPA), progressions to other apprenticeships and harnessing support from workplace mentors.