The National Training and Modern Apprenticeship Awards Wales 2008
Developing skills and changing lives I
ndividuals, organisations and employers were recognised for their outstanding commitment to excellence in skills at the National Training and Modern Apprenticeship Awards Wales 2008. The awards, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government, showcase Modern Apprentices, businesses and providers of learning and collaborative projects that have made outstanding contributions to training. These may have been through improvements in personal development, business procedures or programme delivery. Business leaders, decision makers, apprentices and employers from across Wales gathered at a glittering gala evening at Cardiff City Hall on Thursday, October 23 to see and hear truly inspiring accounts of how people and organisations have transformed themselves through training and skills development. The winners and finalists all shared a single characteristic – a steadfast commitment to achieve excellence through training. With a streamlined entry process and new award
categories, 2008 saw entries to the National Training Awards increase by almost 80% in Wales and entries to the Modern Apprenticeship Awards increase by 100%, making it a highly contested year. This year, 13 organisations and individuals received Wales Training Awards, the prestigious Welsh Assembly Government-backed accolade presented for remarkable achievements in skills development. Of these, four were also presented with a UK National Training Award, placing them among the most outstanding achievers in the whole of the UK. Among the Modern Apprenticeship Award winners were Joanne Frowen, a vehicle maintenance and repair apprentice from Gwent, Cardiff-based training company ACT and Arriva Trains Wales were celebrated as the best in their field. John Griffiths, deputy skills minister, said: “Modern Apprenticeships are going from strength to strength. The One Wales commitment to significantly increase the number of apprenticeships in Wales is on its way to being realised with the help of significant funding from the European Structural Fund. “The £70m Modern Apprenticeship World Class
UK NATIONAL TrAININg AWArD WINNer
Training change steers DVLA contact centre to national honours Steering through a new staff training system at the busy Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) Contact Centre in Swansea has saved the agency £300,000 a year and boosted skills, morale and customer satisfaction. The modular training programme, which leads to qualifications accredited by the Customer Contact Association, has been such a success that the DVLA is now considering adopting it across the organisation. Employing around 800 people handling 22 million calls a year, the contact centre’s progress has now been recognised by a coveted National Training Award for large employers. The Contact Centre introduced the bespoke training programme in January last year, to replace the previous ‘outdated’ approach that was failing to achieve its targets. The agency wanted better trained advisors and trainers to improve customer satisfaction and call quality, and to cope with a 400% rise in call demand. Staff helped design the new training programme by taking part in focus groups and surveys.
Outstanding commitment to training UK National Training Award – Winners n Cardiff County Council Local Education Authority n DVLA Contact Centre n Eirias High School n Samantha Wilson Wales Training Award – Winners n 101 in partnership with South Wales Police and Cardiff County Council n Agoriad Cyf n Caleb Roberts Insurance Services n Ceri Mumford n DVLA in partnership with Blue Sky Performance Improvement n Legal & General n Merthyr Tydfil College Skills project will help more than 22,500 people raise their skills levels, and achieve whatever qualifications they need for the jobs they want to get.
n SAIL - School Action Intervention in Literacy, Cardiff LEA Modern Apprenticeship Awards - Winners n Arriva Trains Wales – Employer Award Winner n ACT – Provider Award Winner n Joanne Frowen – Learner Award Winner Modern Apprenticeship Awards - Finalists n Connaught Partnership – Employer category n BT – Employer category n Debra Foster – Learner category n Miles Black – Learner category n Coleg Llandrillo Cymru – Provider category n t2 business solutions – Provider category I extend my sincere congratulations to all of the finalists at the National Training Awards – their hard work is an inspiration to us all.”
UK NATIONAL TrAININg AWArD WINNer
Sums add up as maths project wins the national training award Jonathan Matthews, training manager for the DVLA’s Customer Enquiries Group Around 800 staff have received at least 14 days training over the last two years and the new training programme has saved the agency £300,000 in trainer and coaching time and room hire costs. It has also increased productivity. Skilled staff now transfer 60,000 fewer calls a month, equating to savings of £120,000 a year. Customer satisfaction and quality surveys have both improved to over 90%. “The old training approach was just to give people the information without ensuring they had understood it,” said Jonathan Matthews, training manager for the DVLA’s Customer Enquiries Group. “We replaced it with modular training whereby we can gradually build someone’s knowledge, give them formal qualifications and introduce a coaching culture. We also monitor how staff develop after their training and the results speak for themselves.”
An imaginative project that helps under-achieving primary school children to brush up on their mathematics has been recognised by a coveted Training Award for the second year running. Last year, the Numeracy Intervention Project, run by Cardiff County Council, achieved a regional Wales Training Award. This year, it went one better by winning a UK National Training Award in the Providing Education and Training category. The Numeracy Intervention Project, which is funded by Basic Skills Cymru until 2010, has been run for the last three years by Samantha Oldfield, an advisory teacher with the council’s mathematics advisory team. In that time, 36 primary schools, 75 teaching assistants, 38 teachers and hundreds of children in the Welsh capital have benefited and the project has been identified as an ‘outstanding feature’ of Cardiff education provision. Research has shown that more than three-quarters
Samantha Oldfield of Cardiff Council Local Education Authority’s Numeracy Intervention Project of the children who have received support from teaching assistants trained by the project have made good progress. Samantha Oldfield, 34, provides training for teaching assistants and their teacher mentors to ensure they have the skills and confidence to support early years and Key Stage 1 and 2 children who are struggling with mathematics. “Increasing the confidence of teaching assistants and teachers as well as their understanding of required skills and enjoyment of the subject impacts directly on the quality of support given to children,” explained Samantha, a former primary school teacher, who once struggled with maths herself. Teaching assistants and their teacher mentors attend weekly training sessions outside school for 18 weeks followed by coaching support from Samantha in the classroom.