Getting to know senior management

Who are you and what’s your role? I am Tracey Spiller and I am the Strategic Lead for Skills, which involves overseeing both Essential Skills teams in Apprenticeships and Traineeships. There are 22 members of staff that do a fabulous job of supporting learners across both delivery areas. I am now also overseeing the new Curriculum Development team, which I am really excited about developing and taking forward in 2021.

How have you and your team adapted to Covid-19? The Essential Skills (ES) teams have done an amazing job in reacting to all the changes, especially with short notice on many things. Suddenly we were all working from home, delivering virtually and managing changing expectations from the Awarding Bodies and Welsh Government. Like everyone else at ACT, the ES Teams have just pulled up their sleeves, got on with the tasks at hand and carried on supporting their learners and ensuring their achievements. It has been a challenge but meeting up regularly on Teams and Whereby has proved so invaluable in keeping us just about sane! The Curriculum team came together in the midst of lockdown so you might have thought that it would be difficult to bond as a team straightaway. However, they have managed to do exactly the opposite of this and are really making remote working work for them.

What are your plans for the future of ACT? Despite such a challenging year, I am really excited about the opportunities that have presented themselves during the pandemic. It has shown us how flexible we can be with our learner offerings. Teams have shown how effective virtual delivery can be and are constantly coming up with new ways to support engagement and increase achievements for our learners.The curriculum team will complete a full delivery review in the summer and start supporting delivery areas with their resource building. As a result, there we will be exciting updates and releases as we move throughout the year, so watch this space…

What’s the biggest challenge your team faces? Ongoing homeworking is a challenge for everyone and in all honesty, I miss seeing everyone. Yes, we all meet up on Teams and Whereby but I miss seeing teams and colleagues in person, and just chatting about this and that as we pass in the building. Although I am not so sure I am missing the three flights of steps in OPH - my waistline is though and my daily steps are taking a hit!

What is your proudest moment at ACT? The proudest moments that first spring to mind are the awards that have been won: Team of The Year, individual delivery awards and nominations. There are also so many other fabulous moments I can think of, and they all come back to learners achieving with such dedicated Tutor support - despite all the odds. Successes in many cases have been just as great for the tutors as it has been for the learners. This past year, tutors have delivered out of their comfort zones and adapted their methods of delivery, along with their resources, to meet new ways of working. This isn't easy, and I applaud the team for taking on the virtual world and still making a difference. Recently, I have been extremely proud of the Curriculum team and the soft launch that was produced; it has just shown us what a valuable support they will be to practitioners moving forward. The standard of resources they are designing are extremely creative and interactive. I can't wait for our learners to be able to use these.

Tell us something we wouldn’t know about you? I have been really fortunate to experience living and working in both America and Australia. Whilst in America (in my 20's, so not that long ago!) I Iived in Kansas, Detroit, LA, Florida and Indianapolis. This was an amazing experience. Prior to starting at ACT (which was 3 years ago now) I lived and worked in Adelaide, South Australia, in a very similar role to the one I'm in now. I am happy to say that my family and I are fully settled in Wales now and I even enjoy the rain sometimes! I love that the coast is on my doorstep, the city a short drive away and that the Beacons are close too. For me, Wales has it all. I have a long way to go to perfect the language, and some days I would be happy just pronouncing the place names correctly! But I do try...