Episode #37
Vocational Celebration Day 2026
Recorded live at Teagle Machinery in Truro, Cornwall, the first-ever Vocational Celebration Day shines a spotlight on vocational training across the UK. Steph McGovern, a former apprentice herself, chats to apprentices from all around the UK to celebrate and promote the value of the ‘hard hat’ and all those taking forging their careers using a vocational pathway. Apprentices from sectors including engineering, HR, data science, transport planning, banking, sales and more share their journeys, challenges, and ambitions. In the studio, Steph also chats to Niki Storey, Group Strategy & Transformation Director at Enginuity and Alexia Williams MBE, Technical Lead at Rolls-Royce and an Enginuity Trustee, about the importance of vocational skills and why Vocational Celebration Day was created. Steph also meets Carrie Childs from the Cornwall Careers Hub, who shares how their work is helping to reduce NEET rates across the local area. Hosted at Teagle Machinery Ltd, Steph meets some of the apprentices on-site who make up 20% of the company’s work force and chats to Richard Berryman, Manufacturing Director at Teagle, about ways they are encouraging the apprentices to take on new responsibilities, including taking over parts of the factory on Fridays. Messages of support also come from the Skills Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith, Enginuity’s CEO Ann Watson MBE, EAL’s Managing Director Alison Parkes, and Phil Smith CBE, Chair of Skills England. Plus, there’s a special performance from Adam Lyons & ‘The Paintshop Boys’ To watch the episode in full visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTauncd43LI 00:00 Welcome to Vocational Celebration Day 00:45 Inside Teagle Machinery 01:32 Meet the Apprentices 02:23 Message from Ann Watson MBE, CEO of Enginuity 04:55 Why Vocational Matters with Niki Storey and Alexia Williams MBE 11:19 Amazon Apprentice Olivia Lane 15:45 Audience Apprentices’ Stories 19:11 Factory Flashdance Moment with Adam Lyons & ‘The Paintshop Boys’ 21:02 Apprentice Ambassador Network in London 26:33 Message from the Skills Minister, Jacqui Smith 29:27 Teagle Apprentices in Action 33:45 Cornwall Tackles NEETs 35:48 Careers Skills and Networks 38:56 Apprentice Ambassador Network in the West Midlands 43:23 EAL Backs Vocational Routes 45:42 Apprentice Ambassador Network in the North East 51:45 Message from Phil Smith CBE, Skills England 53:46 Apprentice Ambassador Network in the North West 59:50 Lloyds Banking Group Apprentices in Edinburgh 01:02:06 Closing Thanks and Celebration Song Get in touch with us at sospod@enginuity.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
