An apprentice from Bristol has taken on England’s largest lake in an adrenaline-charged charity challenge, and raised nearly £1,600 in the process.
Lee Milton pushed himself to the limit to row the width of Lake Windermere along with seven team members, as part of the Virgin Media Apprentice team in the nationwide ‘Brathay Apprentice Challenge’. The muscle-busting row was the finale of a full-on day of Krypton Factor-style activities, which saw the team put to the test in a series of mental and physical tasks.
The head-to-head day at Lake Windermere was the final stage in the Brathay Apprentice Challenge, an initiative set-up to raise the profile of Apprentices across Britain and raise money for charity.
Lee and the Virgin Media Apprentice team took home fifth place in the challenge and have now raised much-needed funds for Cancer Research UK.
Lee said that being able to call on the skills he has developed on the Virgin Media Apprentice scheme was central to the team’s success.
He said: “The Virgin Media Apprenticeship scheme has given all of us highly transferable skills, which were central to how well we worked as a team at the Brathay Apprentice Challenge. Through our extensive on-the-job training with Virgin Media we had all the necessary skills to work together and tackle all of the challenges, especially out on the biggest lake in the UK, it was quite a day!”
“Being involved in the Brathay Apprentice Challenge has been just one of the benefits of being part of the Virgin Media Apprenticeship scheme and was a really great experience. Being able to talk about our involvement is great as it inspires other young people. A lot of people believe that there aren’t any opportunities or jobs for school and college-leavers at the moment, so I feel privileged to be able to pass on the message that that is not the case. Through companies like Virgin Media there are plenty of great opportunities for careers in really exciting and fast paced industries.”
Peter Van Den Broeck, head of apprentice programs from Virgin Media, said: “Lee and the Virgin Media Apprentice team taking part in the challenge have already boosted the profile of apprentices around the country with their school and college visits.
“It’s so important that young people are aware that opportunities do exist for them to undertake on-the-job training and the chance to forge a career, so what the team has done in the Brathay Apprentice Challenge all helps to spread that message.”
As part of the challenge the team chose to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Seven other teams took part in the challenge which is run by The National Apprenticeship Service and The Brathay Trust.
