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ISSUE 3
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| MARCH 2018
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Important things you need to know
Celebrating success
Staff in the spotlight
On Friday 23rd February ACT was honoured as one of the UK's top employers for the fourth time...
We are delighted to announce the finalists and winners of our second round of Staff Recognition Awards...
This month we have put the spotlight on Gina Mather, who joined ACT in 2013 as a cleaning assessor...
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We are continuing to carry on our theme of celebration as we reach our third issue of ACT Insight. It has been another busy couple of months across ACT and I have been delighted to see that teams and departments are continuing to go above and beyond to ensure that learners are at the heart of everything that they do. As a result, we have lots to report on again, including: Best Companies Day success, our impending Esytn visit, and a brand new marketing campaign. Plus, in this issue we have announced the finalists of our second Staff Recognition Awards – congratulations everyone. I was delighted to read and learn more about the fantastic work that you all do on a day-to-day basis. Enjoy the third issue and, if I don’t get chance to see you beforehand, have a lovely Easter break everyone!
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contents Important things you need to know
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Quality
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Marketing
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Celebrating Success
Events
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Welsh Corner
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Staff in the Spotlight
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Book Club
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Welcome to our Newest Recruits!
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important things you need to know...
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BEST COMPANIES EMPLOYEE SURVEY
On Friday 23rd February ACT was honoured as one of the UK's top employers for the fourth time, ranking 59th in the prestigious Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work for 2018 list – and we are still beaming. Plus, ACT has also secured a Best Companies 2 Star ‘outstanding’ accreditation for its commitment to workplace engagement. We are extremely proud of this recognition as a major part of our strategy has been
focusing on staff happiness, so we are delighted to see that the improvements we have been making are having a positive impact. Commenting on the success, Andrew Cooksley said: “The happiness and wellbeing of staff is hugely important to us and this reflects on the amazing service we deliver to over 6,500 people each year. I am tremendously proud that ACT has been recognised for caring as much for our passionate staff as well as those people we all work so hard to help through our training programmes.”
Thank you again to everyone who took the time to complete the Best Companies survey and help us achieve this incredible accolade. Please know that it would not have been possible without the commitment of each of our 385 employees for making ACT a great place to work for all. Our Best Companies celebrations with you all were slightly hampered by the weather, but we hope you all enjoyed the snow day and the sweets. We were blown away by the positive response we had from you all.
ESTYN IS COMING SOON Following on from the last edition of ACT Insight, we are still anticipating an Estyn Inspection in 2018. So to help you prepare, here is a small reminder of Estyn Inspection details.
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SELF-ASSESSMENT AND QUALITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2016/17 Welsh Government have provided us with positive feedback on our 2016/17 Self-Assessment and Quality Development Plan. This is encouraging feedback to have when we are expecting an Estyn Inspection in this contract year. We will be making further amendments and reviews of the document as it is imperative the content of these documents accurately reflect our business. The reports can be found in ‘Company Information’ on Cascade and must be read by all staff alongside the Estyn Guide. All routes/departments need to ensure their individual QDP’s are completed and up to date and linked to the main Network QDP. Estyn inspectors will ask staff how they have been involved with the SAR process and all staff need to know the headlines on performance.
ISO AUDIT
This includes:
ISO is the internationally recognised Quality Management System standard that is designed to help organisations ensure that they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service. ACT received certification for ISO 9001:2008 in March 2017. This year we are transitioning to the ISO 9001:2015 standards which will involve an external auditor spending four days with the Quality Team auditing and checking our Quality Management Systems against the standards.
• The development of an app/ booking system to book learners onto workshops
Audit Dates: 26th – 29th March 2018 Please see Cascade for further information and guidance.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS
Did you know...
THE MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS TEAM GENERATED 390 TRAINEESHIP AND APPRENTICESHIP LEADS IN FEBRUARY!
We have recruited Tracey Spiller as an Essential Skills Manager which is a new role at ACT. Tracey started with us on the 15th January 2018 and already Tracey and the team have made significant progress with the systems and processes to support all teams and learners with the delivery of the qualifications.
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• A more effective referral process using Vision • A more effective system for requesting special access requirements • A rota and structured system for marking and storing controlled tasks •
A new appeals process for assessors to follow if they have any queries with the marks awarded - learners must be advised to follow the usual appeals procedure
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Learner journey paperwork for Essential Skills tutors to complete for learners undertaking support with the Essential Skills team - these include a detailed learning plan, learner review and feedback record and a learner skills checker. This is additional paperwork to enhance the records of learner skills development to meet awarding body and Estyn requirements and does not replace the normal ILP and review paperwork.
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Gazzard Trust and is named after Hollie Gazzard, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2014 whilst working late in a hair salon in Gloucester.
HOLLIE GUARD APP As part of our overall staff health, safety and wellbeing processes, we would like to introduce you to a personal safety app called Hollie Guard. Hollie Guard was developed by Panic Guard Ltd for the Hollie
At ACT we have staff who undertake lone working and some even visit employer premises either in remote locations or during unsociable hours. We hope that these staff members will utilise this app to complement our lone working policy and arrangements
quality
The app is completely free to download and we would encourage you to do so for both work and personal situations. You can download the app on both Apple and Android devices from the App store. You will then need to click ‘show interest’ and register your details to begin using the app. A full user guide is available to download here which includes detailed instructions on using Hollie Guard. There is also a video you can view which demonstrates the use of the app.
• Thursday 7th of June | 8:30am - 12:00pm Maths Unit 2
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The GCSE summer exams are fast approaching and our Schools Team are looking for volunteers to be Invigilators/Readers on the following examination dates at both Ocean Park Academy and Caerphilly Academy:
• Friday 8th of June | 8:30am - 12:00pm English Unit 3 If you are available and willing to help on any of these dates, please let us know when you are available by completing this form by the 13th of April: GCSE Exams Summer 2018 – Invigilators/ Readers
• Tuesday 8th of May | 8:30am - 12:00pm Maths Numeracy Unit 1 • Thursday 10th of May | 8:30am - 12:00pm Maths Numeracy Unit 2
All volunteers will receive full Invigilator/Reader training from Qualifications Wales which will take place on the 2nd of May (2:30pm – 3:30pm) at Ocean Park House.
• Thursday 24th of May | 8:30am - 12:00pm Maths Unit 1 • Tuesday 5th of June | 8:30am - 12:00pm English Unit 2
If you have any questions regarding invigilation, please get in touch with Gareth Mathias or Kelly Rowlands.
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marketing ACT’S 2018 MARKETING CAMPAIGN HAS GONE LIVE
The Marketing & Communications team has been busy the last three months putting together another exciting campaign to promote ACT and our Traineeship and Apprenticeship programmes and help us reach our occupancy targets. This year we have partnered with Capital FM to produce an integrated campaign that started on 21st March and spans until GCSE results day in August 2018. It is our biggest marketing campaign yet, focusing on celebrating apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy in Wales. It is easy for us to list the benefits of apprenticeships, but it means so much more when a real person tells you their experience, which is why are hanging our campaign around real apprentices and their employers.
We have three exceptional trainees/apprentices and their employers as our campaign stars, including: Bryony Zorulunta and Helen Evans from Cwm Taf University Health Board; Adele Lane, Collin Pyle and Hayley Teague from DS Smith; and Stella Vasiliou and Andrew Treweek from the Vale of Glamorgan Council.
You can view their stories on our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com
We want this campaign to go viral!
Help us reach as many people as possible by sharing our activity on your own social media profiles.
How? Make sure you are following one or all of our social media channels and share, comment, like, re-tweet any of the content. @acttrainingltd /acttraining @acttraining acttraining
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STAFF INTRANET – LAUNCHING THIS SUMMER! We are very excited to announce that we are working with an external company to develop a brand new intranet as outlined in our internal communications plan.
As you know we have been working on creating clear and effective internal communication channels to cut down the current information overload and help make people’s job easier. We have identified that an intranet is going to be an essential tool in helping us achieve this and we look forward to sharing our plans, getting your feedback and working with key people from across the company to launch this new project this summer. More information will be available soon.
INSPIRE! AWARDS We have nominated Julie Coulthard, an extremely dedicated and determined MTS learner who has overcome so many barriers to get back into employment, for an Inspire! Award this year. Finalists will be announced on 30th April and our fingers are tightly crossed for her.
APPRENTICE EXTRA DISCOUNT CARD It's not just our learners that can get themselves a student card, ACT staff are able to purchase an Apprentice Extra card too! The cards cost £12, are valid for 1 year and entitle you to discounts in hundreds of high street stores. Visit www.apprenticeextra.co.uk to discover available discounts and to buy yours. Any problems, please contact Learner Representative Emily Dumelow.
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"It has been very humbling to read the countless examples of colleagues going above and beyond to support our learners, clients and stakeholders..."
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celebrating success STAFF RECOGNITION AWARDS MARCH 2018 We are delighted to announce the finalists and winners of our second round of Staff Recognition Awards – the first of 2018. We received 33 nominations in total from across the company and we were delighted to read and learn more about their amazing efforts. A huge ACT-style congratulations goes out the following 19 employees/teams who have shown a tremendous commitment to their role, achieved excellent results and have gone the extra mile for our learners and stakeholders: SCHOOLS STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR Winner: Louise Newland TRAINEESHIPS/MTS TUTOR OF THE YEAR Winner: Lewis Jones
ASSESSOR OF THE YEAR Winner: Lisa Beecham
Finalist: Paula Berry and Emma Huggins MANAGER OF THE YEAR Winner: Nick Gelstharp Finalists: Deb Birkett and Lisa George OPERATIONS SUPPORT STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR Winner: Ruth Taylor Finalist: Allan Johnson DELIVERY SUPPORT STAFF MEMBER OF THE YEAR Winner: Susan Hatch
CORE VALUES CHAMPION OF THE YEAR Winner: Susan Hatch Finalists: Laura Morris-Lloyd and Louisa Mallett Prizes and certificates will be making their way to you very soon. We also look forward to welcoming the winners of our March Staff Recognition Awards to our ACT Staff Award Ceremony in December 2018 where they will join winners from our June and November awards to become finalists in the annual award in their category.
Finalists: Cheryl Evans and Karen Richards
Commenting on the awards, Richard Spear said:
TEAM OF THE YEAR Winner: People and Development
“It has been very humbling to read the countless examples of colleagues going above and beyond to support our learners, clients and stakeholders. A huge well done to everyone and thank you to those colleagues who submitted a nomination and a special thanks goes to the Staff
Finalists: MTS and CCLDApprenticeships NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR Winner: Hayley Roberts Finalists: Alan Johnson and Mel Mills
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Council for judging this round.”
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ADAM MAYO WINS AT BRITISH JU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIPS Adam Mayo, ACT Schools Tutor, has recently won at the British Ju-Jitsu championships. The competition was the 2017 British open for Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, held on the 4th February 2018 due to the original date being rearranged because of bad weather.
Adam competed in the Master 1 heavy weight division which was made up of eight competitors from around the UK. Each fight lasts five minutes with opponents trying to submit one another, the winner then progressed to the next round of the competition. Adam had three fights on the day and won every single one. Big congratulations to Adam for this achievement, if anyone wants to learn Ju-Jitsu you know where to go!
Did you know...
WE HAVE JUST OVER 4,000 FOLLOWERS ON TWITTER! FOLLOW US @acttrainingltd
P&D TEAM NAMED AS AWARD FINALISTS A huge congratulations goes out to our P&D Team who were shortlisted for Team of the Year at the HR Wales Award 2018.
They had a fantastic night celebrating their achievements at a black-tie award ceremony at the Exchange Hotel in Cardiff hosted by Sian Lloyd on Friday 23rd March. The awards attracted a record number of entries this year and we are incredibly proud that our team made it through to the finals. Well done!
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Did you know...
THE CADBURY’S FACTORY IN BIRMINGHAM PRODUCES
1. 5 MILLION
CREME EGGS EVERY DAY.
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events...
TATA STEEL VISIT
On Thursday 15th February we headed to Tata Steel’s Port Talbot site with our Skills Ambassador and rugby legend Jonathan Davies, to talk about digital skills and Apprenticeships. We are currently working with Tata Steel to upskill their workforce, starting with their Central Engineering Shop department. Though it’s safe to say there were a few questions about rugby for Jonathan Davies, we have an impressive uptake of over a hundred of the 180 employees in the department signed up so far to our IT User Skills Level 2 Apprenticeship. And with Jonathan’s help, we are striving to get the whole department on board!
WAKE UP TO APPRENTICESHIPS Our first breakfast event for Head of Year Teachers and School Career Advisors was a success as we made some valuable links and formed new relationships with local schools.
Martin Blamey from Cowbridge Comprehensive School commented: “I came away ‘fired up’ and more determined to try and spread the message about the value of traineeships and apprenticeships.” Similar events will be hosted at our various centres throughout the year, details to follow in the next edition of ACT Insight.
As a result we have been invited into these schools to deliver specialist talks at school assemblies, which is great news.
CAUT I
The feedback received was really positive. Attendees came away feeling much more informed about the options available for their pupils and said it had re-enforced their learning and ensured they can relate the full picture of what ACT has to offer to potential trainees and school pupils.
CONTENTS
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WAKE UP TO APPRENTICESHIPS! You are invited to our Breakfast Event specifically for Head of Year Teachers & School Career Advisors
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Join us for a spot of breakfast and find out about our opportunities on offer to your students.
You’ll also get the chance to:
We offer a full range of work-based learning programmes,
> Meet staff and speak to current learners
> Look around the centre and view our fantastic facilities
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welsh corner ENILLWYR CARU CYMRU/ PROUD TO BE WELSH WINNERS Diolch yn fawr anferth i bawb gymrodd rhan yn y gystadleuaeth Caru Cymru. Gweler yr enillwyr isod. Bydd y gwobrau ar eu ffordd yn fuan iawn! A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the proud to be Welsh competition. The winners were as follows. Prizes will be making their way to you very soon! CYFRYNGAU DIGIDOL / DIGITAL MEDIA: 1st Poster Liam Higgs BPIF 2nd Powerpoint Eleanor Woodhouse Llamau, Learning 4 Life
PHOTOGRAPHY / FFOTOGRAFFIAETH
1st Under 12s rugby Alison Phillips ACT 2nd Cwm Spirits Delwyn Edwards ACT 3rd People power in Wales Suzannah Evans ACT SGILIAU GALWEDIGAETHOL / VOCATIONAL SKILLS 1st Website Ciaran Hurrell, Joshua Morris, Rhys Hutchings and Louis Hilbert ACT 2nd Welsh themed make-up Kerene Kipula, Simran Kaur and Devishri Parmar ACT 3rd Dragon Milan Sivak, Jarin Jahan ACT YSGRIFENNU CREADIGOL / CREATIVE WRITING 1st Wales poem Aaliyah Chappell ACT 2nd Trapped short story Alison Stone ACT 3rd Brecon Beacons poem Bridgematt20 ACT
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DYDD MIWSIG CYMRU Cafodd ein dysgwyr hwyl yn darganfod mwy am gerddoriaeth Cymraeg ar ddydd miwsig Cymru ar y 9fed o Chwefror. Cawsant y cyfle i lawrlwytho rhestrau chwarae yn cynnwys Sŵnami, Gwenno, Super Furry Animals a llawer mwy. Cafodd ymwelwyr i’r caffi wledd o gerddoriaeth Cymraeg i’w diddanu. Mae rhestrau chwarae ar gael o hyd, dilynwch y cod QR. Learners had fun discovering more about Welsh music on Welsh Music day on the 9th of February. They downloaded playlists including Sŵnami, Gwenno, Super Furry Animals and many more. Visitors to the café were treated to Welsh music throughout the day. Free Welsh music playlists are still available to download. Just scan the QR code.
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CYFLEOEDD HYFFORDDI CYMRAEG ACT ACT WELSH TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES Cymraeg ar gyfer darparwyr Gall aseswyr a thiwtoriaid gymryd mantais o gwrs tair awr mewnol i gefnogi defnyddio Cymraeg a Chymreictod yn eu darpariaeth. Mae’r cwrs yn edrych ar hanes a diwylliant Cymru, Cymraeg sylfaenol a syniadau ar gyfer defnyddio’r Gymraeg yn eu darpariaeth bob dydd. Mae cyrsiau’r gwanwyn ar gael ar Cascade nawr. Cwrs blasu ar-lein Cymraeg Gwaith Ydych chi eisiau defnyddio mwy o Gymraeg yn y gwaith? Ydych chi yn ei chael hi’n anodd gwneud eich 30 awr DPP? Pam na wnewch chi gofrestru ar gyfer cwrs blasu ar-lein Cymraeg Gwaith?
Mae’r cwrs 10 awr ar-lein hwn sydd wedi cael ei ddatblygu gan y Ganolfan Dysgu Cymraeg Cenedlaethol am ddim ar gyfer staff ACT ac yn cyfri tuag at eich DPP. Mae wedi anelu at ddechreuwyr ac yn anelu at ddatblygu eich hyder i ddefnyddio’r Gymraeg yn eich gwaith bob dydd fel cyfarch cydweithwyr a chleientiaid a chadeirio cyfarfodydd. Cysylltwch â nonwilshaw@acttraining.org.uk i gofrestru neu cadwch lygad ar Cascade. Welsh for practitioners Practitioners can take advantage of a three hour in-house course to support using Welsh and Welshness in their delivery. The course looks at Welsh history and culture, Basic Welsh and ideas and tips to embed Welsh in everyday practice. Spring courses are available to book on Cascade now.
APP Y MIS APP OF THE MONTH Fy Ardal Mae’r app dwyieithog hon gan yr Urdd yn eich galluogi i chwilio am ddigwyddiadau cyfrwng Cymraeg i blant, pobl ifanc a theuluoedd yn eich ardal.
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Work Welsh online taster course Do you want to use more Welsh in Work? Are you finding it difficult to do your 30 hours CPD? Why not register for the Work Welsh online taster course? This 10 hour online course developed by the national centre for learning Welsh is free for ACT staff and counts towards your CPD record. It is aimed at total beginners and aims to give you the confidence to use Welsh in everyday work situations like greeting colleagues and clients and chairing meetings. Contact nonwilshaw@acttraining.org.uk if you are interested or keep an eye on Cascade.
cornel cymraeg Fy Ardal This bilingual app by the Urdd youth movement allows you to search for Welsh medium events for children, young people and families in your area.
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staff in the spotlight...
This month we have put the spotlight on Gina Mather, who joined ACT in 2013 as a Cleaning Assessor.
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Hi Gina, tell us a little bit about your role…
Where has been the best place you have travelled to?
What would be your top tip for colleagues?
My role is now Cleaning, Health Care Support Services and Facilities Route Coordinator, this involves working with a caseload of leaners and supporting the team of cleaning and facilities assessors.
The best place that I have travelled to has to be Kenya, it’s an amazing place.
My top tip to any colleague is to make sure that you have excellent customer service skills, make sure that you build rapport with your leaners, let them know that you are reliable and trustworthy by being on time, be professional and prepared at every visit. With these skills any one can succeed.
The route has grown since I started with ACT, from delivering just the cleaning qualification into offering the organisations that we work with a range of qualifications. These can differ to suit the needs of the organisations’ support staff in their cleaning and maintenance of the buildings that we work in. The most rewarding part of my role is to see learners that have achieved a qualification develop and work their way up the career ladder. Tell us an interesting fact about yourself… My name. My real name is Georgina but no one would know me as this!
What book did you last read? The last book that I read was a murder mystery suspense novel, while laying on a sun lounger in Thailand. What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? This is difficult as I am passionate about any job I have ever done. Although if I had to choose the worst job I ever had it would probably be working on the rotisserie at ASDA as I normally went home feeling dirty and smelly from chickens. How do you like to spend your time when you’re not working? When I am not working I am normally organising and planning in the house, cleaning or cooking meals… all rather boring.
Therefore on reflection my worst job ever at ASDA was not that bad after all as it taught me how to deal with many different customers. A big thank you to Gina for taking the time to answer our questions this month. If you would like to feature in our Staff in the Spotlight section, or have a colleague you’d like to put forward, please let the marketing & Communications team know.
SVAGO CARDIFF
10% discount
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10% discount from the food menu applicable at all times. Just show your staff ID when asking for the bill. www.svago.co.uk
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book club
Last issue our recommended read was Black Box Thinking: Marginal Gains and the Secrets of High Performance
Thank you to everyone who got on board with the book club, ordered a copy and read the book.
This issue our recommended read is – The Power of Moments: Why certain experiences have extraordinary impact.
limited to 50 copies!
From the internationally bestselling authors of Switch and Made to Stick. What if a teacher could design a lesson that he knew students would remember twenty years later? What if a manager knew how to create an experience that would delight customers? What if you had a better sense of how to create memories that matter for your children? We all have defining moments in our lives - meaningful experiences that stand out in our memory.
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Did you know...
A RABBIT HAS AN ALMOST 360 DEGREE FIELD OF VIEW, AS WELL AS HAVING PANORAMIC VISION.
Many of these moments are the result of accident or luck but, in The Power of Moments, internationally bestselling authors Chip and Dan Heath ask: why leave our most meaningful, memorable moments to chance when we can create them?
TO ORDER YOUR COPY Email: bookclub@acttraining.org.uk with your name and centre. Please submit your thoughts and feedback after reading this book through to: bookclub@acttraining.org.uk so they can be featured in the next issue of ACT Insight.
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welcome to our newest recruits! 1
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Kelly Davies
Data Administrator, Swansea Joined: 12/02/2018
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Alison Phillips
Commercial Training Coordinator, OPH Joined: 22/01/2018
Sophie Cole
HR Administrator, OPH Joined: 19/02/2018
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Sheryl Dominguez
Executive PA, OPH Joined: 19/02/2018
STAFF OFFER OF THE MONTH
20% discount
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ACT staff can get 20% off the food bill at STRADA* (Don't forget to show your Staff ID!) Please keep this code between ACT staff only. * Terms and conditions apply - Not valid with set menu or any other offer or promotion, not valid on a Saturday.
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ACT turns 30!
Don’t forget that we will be celebrating three decades of being in business this year. September marks our 30th anniversary and we are looking forward to celebrating this great milestone with you all.
room 101
We launched Room 101 back in January as we want to know your frustrations at work, so we can do our best to help fix them. So far we have only had 5 responses, which is very disappointing as we were expecting a lot, lot more!
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Give us a chance to get rid of your work pet hates and make your working day a little or a lot better. Stop being so polite and send us your frustrations through to: room101@acttraining.org.uk
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insight This publication has been brought to you by the Marketing & Communications team.
Thank you to everyone for their contributions! If you would like to contribute to any future issues please get in touch with the Marketing & Communications Team. Your ideas and input are always welcome!
Freepik Image credits: Created by Makyzz - Freepik.com
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