Rachel studied an apprenticeship through her employer who wanted to support her reach the next stage of her career.

As well as helping her gain a promotion at work, a lot of the tasks Rachel completed as part of her apprenticeship had a positive impact on the way the People team worked and the service offered to END.’s internal customers across the business.

During her apprenticeship Rachel was set challenges within the organisation as they were expanding to new premises in Washington. This gave her opportunities to further develop her recruitment skills, create induction materials for new starters and update policies and procedures.

Rachel achieved her CIPD Level 3 in Human Resources Practice in 2019 and then continued to complete her apprenticeship, demonstrating and gaining experience.

A passionate and dedicated member of the team, she has been described by colleagues as a ‘fundamental member of the team’ a ‘font of all knowledge’ and an ‘unsung hero’ who is ‘cool, calm and collected’ and has been nominated for several awards, playing a key role in END. Clothing receiving recognition for their HR operations.

Level 3 HR Support.

END. Clothing in Washington.

People Assistant.

I support the rest of the People team, line managers and employees across the business with HR services.

This includes, but is not limited to, absence management, disciplinary & grievance, reporting and data analysis, wellbeing, engagement, HR systems and providing advice and guidance on employment law and company policies.

Working for such a fast-growing company there is never a dull day and I really do learn something new every day, which is really valuable at this early stage in my HR career.

The support I got from my tutors was amazing and always made the learning relevant and useful to my job rather than it just being about learning knowledge to pass assignments.

I knew that it would be work-based learning and fit in with my full time job.

Also, my employer is an apprenticeship levy payer and wanted to support me to reach the next stage in my career so it made sense to do this via an apprenticeship.

It was good to have time in an environment separate to work which could be focused on learning, and also to have a class of peers to share ideas with.

Supportive. We were all working towards the same goal and everyone was always happy to help each other out if anyone needed help.

Since completing my apprenticeship I have received a promotion at work and a lot of the tasks I completed as part of my apprenticeship have had a positive impact on the way the People team works and the service we offer to our internal customers in the business.

Student success stories

Maths and English for a Successful Future

Maths and English are everywhere! They are important life skills that will help you to achieve your best in your studies and to progress to your dream career. A GCSE Maths and English qualification could be the difference between being accepted onto a university course or getting a job promotion.

98% of our students progress to a positive destination

*Destination data for Sunderland College students aged 16-18, academic year 2017/18).

Why choose Sunderland College?

Our achievement rates are well above the national average.

We are the College of the Year.

(*Top college nationally for BTECs, Pearson 2019)

100% of our HND and HNC students progressed to employment or further study. 

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We have recently invested £50 million in our facilities.