Catherine Neary has been helping to build the 2012 Olympic site during her Apprenticeship 

As Apprenticeship Week is celebrated nationwide, we're leading the way on Apprenticeship provision in London.

The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London is at the cutting edge of Apprenticeship delivery . Our position as a leading provider was cemented recently when we secured - together with Lewisham College - a share of £7m of government funding to launch an exciting Apprenticeship Training Association (ATA), which will match employers to young people and create hundreds of new Apprenticeship placements.   

We offer Apprenticeships in all of our vocational areas, including some that might surprise anyone with an old-fashioned idea of who can be an Apprentice and what they can study.

Even in 'traditional' areas like construction, our learners are breaking down gender barriers and studying in exciting, innovative ways. A good example is Catherine Neary, pictured above. When the Olympic Games get underway in East London in 2012, she will be looking on with pride as one of a handful of female construction workers able to say: “I helped to build those stadia.”

Catherine, 19, is an apprentice plumber, learning her trade with us for two days a week and spending the other three with her employer, Wingate Electrical.

“I’m enjoying it,” she says. “It’s all pretty new but I’m getting used to it. The best thing is the experience. It is a once in a lifetime chance. It’s great to get on my CV that I worked at the Olympic site."

Fellow learner Natasha McDonald is also a plumbing apprentice, and has just completed her level 3 advanced Apprenticeship. She is employed by Homes for Haringey, which manages and repairs the borough’s council housing stock.

Natasha was a qualified nursery nurse before she switched careers - and her hard work has been recognised at our recent Excellence Awards ceremony, where she was presented with the Plumbing Excellence Award. The award was Natasha's second Excellence Award in three years, following up on her 2007 success.

Other Apprentices recognised at the awards ceremony were: Nesrin Sokucu (14–16 Apprentice of the Year); Luke Woodall (Apprentice of the Year  - Construction; and Chelsie Miller (Apprentice of the Year - Healthcare and Early Years)

Our Principal, Paul Head, who is a member of the London Apprenticeship Task Force, has emphasised the important role Apprenticeships have to play in our vision for our local communities, and also how they fit into the government’s national agenda.  "The young people taken on by the companies and local authorities that we work with are not just gaining employment," he said. "They are also getting important qualifications that will set them up for their working lives.”

• www.apprenticeships.org.uk