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The recognition by the Department for Education follows a new 12-month training provider pilot scheme.

The town college is one of just 13 colleges nationwide to be given the “expert” status and comes in the same year it celebrated its 175th year of transforming people’s lives.

Hartlepool College is also one of just three colleges in the country to be rated outstanding for apprenticeships by Ofsted in back-to-back inspections.

Apprentices Frankie Barnett and Nathan Willis with Gary Ritchies Hartlepool College of Further Education Vice Princal and Principal Darren Hankey (far right). Picture by FRANK REID

Principal Darren Hankey said: "The college has a long and well-established track record of providing education and training which meets company’s needs.

"Down the years, the college has attracted many accolades and being named as an expert apprenticeship provider fills us all with immense pride.

"It’s testament to the hard work and dedication of the College’s staff and students."

Record number of Hartlepool apprentices taken on at Sunderland's Unipres UK engi...

Hartlepool College of Further Education, in Stockton Street, Hartlepool. Picture by FRANK REID

The prestigious mark of excellence was introduced by the Department for Education to highlight institutions that lead by example, showcasing exemplary performance in the apprenticeship sector.

The 13-strong list of providers features a blend of six independent trainers, five colleges of further education and two institutions of higher education.

Hartlepool College has a strong record of success with apprenticeships in engineering, construction and the built environment, professional services, health and social care, education and early years, ICT and digital, travel and tourism, hospitality and catering and hair and beauty.

Gary Riches, college vice principal, who studied there as an electrical engineering apprentice in the early 2000s, said: “The college have been operating at the very top for a long time when it comes to delivering apprenticeships and often spend time advising other apprenticeship training providers who have contacted us to see what we do and how we do it.

“Being an expert provider is exciting as it allows us to shape the future of how apprenticeships will work.

“To have the standard of the college’s apprenticeship provision recognised on a national scale by the Department for Education is exceptional."

He said the status was down to the staff who deliver the training, both in college and in the workplace, the college’s employer-partners, and the apprentices themselves.

Hartlepool College of Further Education earns apprentices elite expert status from Department for Education