Ifan Phillips has finished his Level 3 apprenticeship in Electrical Installations at Coleg Sir Benfro and he felt that studying part of the apprenticeship through the medium of Welsh has given him invaluable skills in the workplace.
Ifan Phillips has finished his Level 3 apprenticeship in Electrical Installations at Coleg Sir Benfro and he feels that studying part of his apprenticeship through the medium of Welsh has given him invaluable skills in the workplace.
Ifan started his apprenticeship in 2019 after realising that he preferred to learn when working rather than studying a university or further education course. He now works as an electrician for a family company, D.E Phillips & Sons LTD, in Crymych, which was established by his grandfather, and being able to provide a Welsh-language service for his customers in the area is very important to him. In a video on the Coleg Cymraeg YouTube channel discussing the benefits of studying through the medium of Welsh, Ifan said:
”Around eighty per cent of the customers where I work speak Welsh, and they appreciate that I can provide them with a Welsh service. So studying my course bilingually has been very useful for me in the workplace.”
In the early days, university education was the focus of the Coleg’s work, but since 2019, the Coleg is also responsible for developing Welsh-medium and bilingual provision at further education colleges and in the field of apprenticeships. This year, the Coleg was responsible for funding 20 lecturing posts at further education colleges across Wales, two at every one of the 11 colleges. Since launching the work in the post-16 sector, over ten thousand learners and apprentices have benefitted from the Coleg’s projects. This year also in the National Eisteddfod in Ceredigion, a new Strategic Partnership between the Coleg and Qualifications Wales was launched to increase the availability of vocational qualifications in Welsh and bilingually for learners and apprentices.
The aim of Coleg Cymraeg is to ensure that everyone, however much Welsh they have, can study elements of their further education course or apprenticeship through the medium of Welsh.
As an ambassador for the Coleg, Ifan has been encouraging other people to study an apprenticeship through the medium of Welsh or bilingually, and last year at the Coleg’s annual awards, Ifan received the William Salesbury Further Education and Apprenticeships Award for his work. He said:
"I’m very passionate about Welsh-medium education for all – whatever their background or level in Welsh. Studying part of my course through the medium of Welsh has enabled me to study in my native language, a language that I’m more comfortable speaking, and I have also improved my Welsh and this has helped me to communicate with customers on a professional level. Whether you are studying for a PhD at university or an apprenticeship to become an electrician like me, we should all have the right to study and train through the medium of Welsh.”
For more information about bilingual apprenticeships, click here.