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.
UK NATIONAL TrAININg AwArd wINNEr
Teacher training academy at top of class A multi-award winning North Wales high school, which formed a training academy to develop high-achieving teachers, is top of the class in this year’s National Training Awards. Not only have they created many classroom champions but they have made the school a place that few teachers want to leave – with staff turnover now down to only 5%. As a result Eirias High School at Colwyn Bay has now won a National Training Award in the medium sized employer section. The school, which has 150 staff and 1,500 pupils, has built a national reputation for consistently outstanding GCSE and A level results with an impressive 77% of pupils achieving five or more A* to C grades at GCSE last year, compared to the Wales average of 54%. However, four years ago, the school became a victim of its own success, as a number of talented teachers left to seek promotion in other schools, leading to worrying high staff turnover. The school therefore formed the Eirias Training Academy to focus on staff recruitment, induction and retention. The academy has developed a coaching culture to guide continuing professional development of all staff.
Assistant head teacher Barbara Morgan (right) with Joanne Caton, head of drama and newly qualified teacher tutor at Eirias High School More than 30% of staff receive mentor training, training partnerships have been formed with eight universities to support teacher trainees and a leadership programme has been introduced for aspiring middle managers. As a result, staff turnover has reduced from 20% to 5%.
“Good, creative continuing professional development clearly helps everyone to be more effective in their jobs and contributes to a positive ethos where people feel valued and motivated,” said assistant head teacher Barbara Morgan.
UK NATIONAL TrAININg AwArd wINNEr
Hotel high-flyer trades city lights for the blue skies of west wales A high-flying hotel worker who once rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous in some of London’s top establishments gave it all up for a job in a West Wales coastal resort. But Samantha Wilson’s success in adapting her top drawer hospitality skills to a new role in the popular St Brides Spa Hotel, Saundersfoot, has now won her a highly-prized UK National Training Award. As reception manager at St Brides, Samantha took on extra responsibilities for human resources and instigated a new HR plan that has significantly improved the business. Staff numbers have increased by 20% while staff turnover has decreased, and the hotel has retained its Investors in People status. Samantha said: “The hospitality industry involves a lot of hard work but I love it and I’ve always got involved with all aspects of the job and training.” Over 18 years Samantha has built up an impressive CV and has worked with many high-profile guests such as Princess Caroline of Monaco, the singer Cyndi Lauper and illusionist David Copperfield. Despite the glitz of city life, working and commuting long hours prompted Samantha to re-evaluate her life and two years ago she turned her back on the ‘rat race’ and hasn’t looked back since. Samantha holds a Personal Training Certificate and a Group Training Award and has completed an Institute for Leadership and Management programme, and is currently studying for a Chartered Institute of
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Samantha Wilson, reception manager at St Brides Spa Hotel, Saundersfoot Personnel and Development Certificate in Personnel Practice. She said: “Training has boosted my confidence and positive feedback
from guests, colleagues and my employers has inspired me to continue to broaden my skills and knowledge.”
The National Training and Modern Apprenticeship Awards – wales 2008
WALEs TrAining AWArd WinnEr
WALEs TrAining AWArd WinnEr
Pilot online exam centre takes off
Leading insurer reaps benefits of management training Improved management training, led by its Cardiff team, has helped UK-wide insurance giant Legal & General to boost its bottom line consistently over the last five years. And it has now won the company a prized Wales Training Award. In 2003 Legal & General opted to develop and introduce a consistent, auditable management development programme for all managers. Audits had revealed that some managers were not carrying out regular staff reviews, which meant that poor performance was not being managed and improved and good performance was not being recognised and encouraged. The company faced a major challenge of introducing the programme consistently across its sales force and the five UK locations – London, Kingswood, Hove, Birmingham and Cardiff – which employ more than 8,500 people. Led by Cardiff-based qualifications manager Mandy Johnson, the company’s management development team has, in the last five years, trained nearly 1,700 managers and become an Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM)
Mandy Johnson, Legal & General’s qualifications manager centre of excellence. Managers have achieved either the ILM Introductory Certificate in First Line Management at Level Three or the Level Five Introductory Diploma in Management. Specialist teams within the company design, deliver, evaluate and review the programme continuously to ensure that it evolves to meet changing business and customer needs. “The management development programme has made a huge difference to the business and to individual managers, who are now much more confident,” said Mrs Johnson. “Regular staff survey results show a positive difference in the way managers apply their new management skills.
Mid Wales-based Caleb Roberts was one of the first firms in the UK to pilot an online examination centre for The Chartered Insurance Institute, the awarding body for professional insurance qualifications. The Knighton-based broker and financial services provider, employs 50 staff at five offices across Mid Wales and the Borders. The company has seen the number of staff achieving nationally recognised qualifications rocket from three to 28 since the examination centre opened two years ago. And its pioneering spirit has now won the firm a prestigious Wales Training Award. “The most noticeable benefit to the company has been the introduction of a culture of professionalism amongst staff,” said Tony Succamore, training manager. “The achievement of a national award, in some cases by individuals who had little in the way of formal educational qualifications, has had a considerable positive effect on self-esteem and morale. They are now much more confident when
Tony Succamore, training manager, Caleb Roberts Insurance Services dealing with the public. He said the company was committed to not only attain minimum competency standards but to encourage staff to reach their full potential. All the staff who have taken examinations have achieved the basic ‘Award in Insurance.’ Almost two-thirds will progress to the ‘Certificate in Insurance’ and the company hopes a number will achieve the Advanced Diploma in Insurance, a degree level qualification. Caleb Roberts Insurance Services is so committed to using the examination centre to its full potential that it hopes to share the facility with staff from other insurance businesses in Mid Wales.
WALEs TrAining AWArd WinnEr
Heads of the Valleys innovation in spotlight An innovative college that is helping put Valleys businesses firmly on the map, has scooped a prestigious Wales Training Award. Merthyr Tydfil College (Faculty of the University of Glamorgan) won the award for its successful Heads of the Valleys Innovation Programme (HOVIP). HOVIP aims to increase innovation in business, including social enterprises, and to raise the profile of a region with high levels of economic and social deprivation. It involves businesses from all sectors joining together for innovation training workshops, where they learn and share skills by finding group solutions to their real business challenges. Workshops are followed by ongoing support and an annual innovation awards and exhibition.
A total of 132 individuals and 32 businesses were supported in HOVIP’s first phase, which ran from August 2006 to December 2007 and was such a success that an expanded second phase has now begun. HOVIP is a private and public sector partnership involving five Heads of the Valleys councils, Community Enterprise Wales, NESTA, BT, HSBC, KTS Owens Thomas, ngb2b and the Wales Quality Centre. New partners for the second phase include Design Wales and further and higher education institutions in the region. “A partnership approach has been crucial to the shared success of HOVIP,” said HOVIP’s project manager Phil Burkhard. “The fact that the five
HOVIP project manager Phil Burkhard Heads of the Valleys councils, 12 award judges and high-profile sponsors all want to continue their
involvement with the second phase is tangible evidence of effective partnership working.”
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WALES TrAiNiNg AWArd WiNNEr
Skills accolade for popular helpline A pioneering joint council and police helpline, designed to help the public combat anti-social behavior, has earned a special Wales Training Award for effective partnership. Cardiff County Council and South Wales Police joined forces to create a new contact number dealing with community issues, including nonemergency crime, policing and anti-social behaviour. The popular scheme has already handled nearly a quarter of a million calls in two years. Based in Cardiff Gate, the contact centre delivers a 24/7 service and provides action, advice and information to the public on community issues. It also passes information from callers to the relevant
organisation in the quickest possible time. Jonathan Warne, 101 contact centre manager, said: “101 employees are trained to a high standard in customer service, police and council matters and have access to both police and council information and computer systems. To ensure the new service runs like clockwork both Cardiff Council and South Wales Police have worked together to create a bespoke six-week induction package, delivered by experts from both organisations. Jonathan Warne said: “The success of the scheme is down to the tailored approach of our training and the excellent team we have here at 101. The collaborative working has meant that
WALES TrAiNiNg AWArd WiNNEr
Jonathan Warne, 101 contact centre manager information sharing about anti-social behaviour and general nuisance has improved dramatically enabling a more joined-up approach to tackling community issues. He added: “Joint working is vital to delivering a top
quality public service that is responsive to the needs of its communities and public. 101 is a partnership development that focuses on all aspects of problem resolution, and we are delighted the service has been recognised by this award.”
WALES TrAiNiNg AWArd WiNNEr
High performance at UK’s vehicle licensing agency Performance has moved up a gear following an intensive management development programme at the Swansea Contact Centre that handles the telephone calls of millions of drivers and vehicle owners throughout Britain. A people and performance management training programme developed by the Driver Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) in collaboration with Blue Sky Performance Improvement has boosted customer satisfaction ratings and raised management skills and staff morale at the agency. This highly productive link-up has now won a respected Wales Training Award for partnership and collaboration. ‘Momentum’, the DVLA contact centre’s bespoke management skills programme, was developed following the results of surveys in 2006. These revealed customer satisfaction of only 73%, and highlighted that morale could be improved through better communication between managers and staff. To date 120 managers have attended the 18-month programme covering aspects such as
contact centre vision and culture, optimising performance and building and motivating teams. Momentum was introduced in June 2007 and utilises learning sets, executive coaching and development surgeries in addition to classroom events. The programme is accredited by the Customer Contact Association (CCA) and successful participants achieve their Advanced Team Leader Diploma. The DVLA also offers other CCA qualifications, such as the Professional Certificate and Professional Diploma for its Customer Services Advisors. Aled Davies, human resource change specialist at the DVLA, explained: “Working in close collaboration with Blue Sky has enabled us to create a meaningful learning programme that meets the specific needs of contact centre managers. The DVLA Contact Centre has grown by over 300% in the last four years, and its 700 advisors receive up to 1.2 million calls every month. Customer satisfaction has now risen to 84%.
Aled Davies (r), human resource change specialist at the DVLA; with Gary Evans a consultant with Blue Sky Performance Improvement
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Jude Butcher, centre, Agoriad Cyf’s qualification development co-ordinator
Charity that trains disabled people gains national recognition Agoriad Cyf, a North Wales charity that helps disabled and disadvantaged people to become more independent and find work, has been honoured for its work with a respected Wales Training Award. Established in 1992 with just three staff, the specialist training provider now employs a team of 28 at offices in Bangor, Pwllheli and Dolgellau and trains around 200 people a year across Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham. As well as carrying out a wide range of training activities, Agoriad is actively developing a social enterprise to create further employment opportunities for disadvantaged people. The nonprofit-making charity is currently developing Cafe Coed y Brenin, Llys Llewelyn tourist craft centre and cafe and Cerist water bottling plant. Its clients have a wide range of disabilities, from
mental health issues, blindness and profound deafness to learning difficulties, brain injuries and cerebral palsy. Nationally accredited training programmes are devised for each person, matching their capabilities with the needs of employers. “Our vision is to bring businesses and disadvantaged individuals together to realise employment and learning opportunities that are mutually beneficial,” explained Jude Butcher, 63, Agoriad’s qualification development co-ordinator. “Most of our clients have left formal education with little or no recognition of their skills or abilities, without which it is nigh on impossible to gain employment. Agoriad has filled this gap in North West Wales and we would like to spread right across Wales,” added Jude, who has herself been helped by Agoriad, having been assisted back into work by the charity following a nervous breakdown.
The National Training and Modern Apprenticeship Awards – Wales 2008
WALEs TrAining AWArd WinnEr
WALEs TrAining AWArd WinnEr
Council takes a step in the right direction Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council certainly took a ‘Step in the Right Direction’ when it launched a unique programme to help young people leaving care to develop the skills, knowledge and experience to find work. Introduced in 2005, ‘Step in the Right Direction’ provides real employment opportunities for six young people leaving care every year in Rhondda Cynon Taff. During the two-year development programme, they learn about the council’s work and gain valuable work experience. The success of the scheme has now won the council a Wales Training Award in the large employer category. This follows last year’s success in winning a Social Care Accolade from the Care Council for Wales. The scheme is now being used as a role model for other local authorities across the country to follow. Of the 14 trainees supported since the
programme’s inception, seven have secured fulltime or temporary employment, with a further five actively involved in work placements. Trainees are given a range of work placements with the council to find the job best suited to them. Programme co-ordinator Darren Notley said the trainees, staff and council had all benefited from the programme. “The chances of young people in public care making the successful transition from dependency to self-reliance are reduced by the exceptional demands and expectations placed upon them before they are ready,” he explained. “Recent research has shown that the employment rate amongst care leavers is significantly higher than their peers in the general population of 16-24year-olds and this is reflected locally, where until 2005 very few care leavers were employed within Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council.”
Step in the Right Direction programme co-ordinator Darren Notley of RCT Council
Christina Walsh, SAIL co-ordinator
Programme gives children a helping hand An innovative skills programme for teachers and classroom assistants who help children with literacy difficulties has been honoured with a Wales Training Award. The SAIL programme – School Action Intervention in Literacy – is funded by a grant from Basic Skills Cymru (BSC) part of the Welsh Assembly Government, and was initially implemented across 10 schools in Cardiff. The multi-sensory programme emphasises active learning and targets children around the age of six who are experiencing early literacy difficulties. Sessions include guided reading, high frequency word work, sentence activities and the development of phonic skills. The intensive programme lasts around 20 weeks, and children work in groups of up to four with sessions lasting approximately 40-45 minutes. Christina Walsh, SAIL co-ordinator said: “The programme has seen excellent results from teachers and children alike, and offers a holistic approach to
literacy learning through active involvement.” Under the programme schools select a teacher and a teaching assistant to deliver the SAIL programme. Training includes four whole-day workshops for the teachers and training assistants interspersed with fortnightly school support visits. Out of the 94 primary and infant schools in Cardiff, 68 have now implemented SAIL, and the scheme has helped over 1,000 children since being introduced in 2002. Around 55% of the children have achieved National Curriculum Level Two results in their end of Key Stage One teacher assessment of English, when their expected level would have been National Curriculum Level One or working towards Level One. Teachers and training assistants have also demonstrated an increase in confidence when dealing with children with literacy difficulties as a result of the programme, and now have a better understanding of how to make literacy fun.
WALEs TrAining AWArd WinnEr
Bright future in store for sparkling Ceri An early setback to a promising childcare career failed to deter enthusiastic Ceri Mumford who has now found an exciting alternative future through her local convenience store. Originally from Cardigan, Ceri left school with 11 GCSEs and qualified in Early Years in Child Care and Education Level Two and Three at Ceredigion Training and got a job as a care assistant at Coed y Bryn Primary School near Newcastle Emlyn. But she had to abandon her dream job after only three years to care for her mother who was diagnosed with cancer, and is still undergoing
treatment. Just to make ends meet Ceri took a part-time job at her local SPAR in Cardigan. But that move has now opened up a whole new career path in retail management. Noticing Ceri’s enthusiasm, SPAR offered her the chance to qualify as a Work Place Instructor (WPI), enabling her to deliver one-to-one coaching and induction to all new employees. This led on to management training and, in March 2008, she was made a store manager, aged only 25. Her commitment to gaining new skills and her
rapid progress have now won Ceri a prestigious Wales Training Award. She said: “I’m now totally different to the person I was a few years back, I’m now confident, outgoing and open to learning new things. I now feel, with all the qualifications I’ve achieved through SPAR, that I’m going to do something with my life – I thoroughly enjoy working within the retail sector.” Aided by Ceri’s leadership the store has now received a 100% SPARkling Service score – an initiative run by SPAR UK – and is also one of the top performing stores in the region. Ceri Mumford, SPAR store manager
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MODERN APPRENTICESHIP EMPlOyER WINNER
Apprenticeships help rail firm stay on track A bespoke adult apprenticeship scheme has helped major train operator Arriva to improve efficiency and boost staff morale. The programme, which targets both managers and general staff, has been so successful that it has won Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) the Employer Award in the prestigious annual Modern Apprenticeship Awards. ATW worked in partnership with Acorn Learning and Development to design and implement the training programme, which aims to enhance management skills and improve customer service. Managers and team leaders are given the opportunity to achieve a Modern Apprenticeship and study for an ILM Certificate in Management involving workshops and individual coaching and mentoring sessions. The programme offers managers the chance to improve their problem solving skills and gives advice on how to motivate a team and encourage personal development.
Over 50 managers enrolled on the learning programme when it was introduced in 2005 and many have completed the ILM Certificate in Management, with the remainder on target to qualify next year. As a consequence of the programme a dozen managers have either moved roles or achieved promotion within the company. A customer service Modern Apprenticeship allows non-managers the opportunity to develop their customer relations skills. The programme considers how employees deal with customer requests, on-train helpfulness and personal presentation. Other adult apprenticeships are offered in team leading and business administration. Lynne Milligan, ATW head of human resources, said: “We aim to provide opportunities for all our employees from senior management through to those on the shop floor, to help develop their skills and expertise and increases their confidence and involvement within the company.”
Lynne Milligan, Arriva Trains Wales’ head of human resources
Andrew Cooksley, managing director of ACT
MODERN APPRENTICESHIP PROvIDER WINNER
Training firm is a class ACT A Cardiff training company that is meeting the burgeoning demand for teaching assistants for the city’s schools has scooped the top learning provider title in the prestigious Modern Apprenticeship Awards. Schools Assist, a division of ACT, has trained more than 300 South Wales teaching assistants since it was set up in 2004. In 2000 there were just 460 teaching assistants in Cardiff’s 136 schools and it has been predicted that by the end of the year there will be more than 4,000 required to meet new demands, including the flagship Foundation Phase curriculum. ACT spotted a gap in the market to help train teaching assistants and responded by providing Schools Assist, which works closely with the Cardiff Advisory Service for Education (CASE) to develop and deliver this innovative programme. This is the first time in Wales a local authority has
joined forces with a private training provider to deliver training for teaching assistants. This partnership ensures that schools in the city are adequately supplied with highly trained teaching assistants. Schools are not charged for this service. So far 30 people have gained their higher level teaching assistant status and it is Schools Assist’s aim to ensure that dozens more are trained up to this high standard. Andrew Cooksley, managing director of ACT, said: “Our partnership with CASE has resulted in many schools gaining expertly trained and enthusiastic teaching assistants, which can only mean that children are getting a better education.” Schools Assist also works in partnership with LEAs in Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Newport, Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taff and Caerphilly.
MODERN APPRENTICESHIP lEARNER WINNER
The secret’s out – Joanne’s motoring ahead A young woman who once kept her love of engines secret for fear of ridicule has won the coveted top learner title in the Modern Apprenticeship Awards. Joanne Frowen, 22, from Tredegar, who now works at King David Tyres in Neath, recently became only the 10th female MOT tester in the UK. During her training as an apprentice mechanic under the supervision of Blaenau Gwent Business Resource Centre Training Division, she won the centre’s Outstanding Achiever Award four times. After finishing school, Joanne began studies towards accountancy but a year later she decided her heart really lay in the garage workshop. So she enrolled on a Foundation Modern Apprenticeship in vehicle
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maintenance at the Resource Centre. Joanne was originally wary of telling others about her ambition: “Being a woman mechanic in my area was unheard of, but I’ve always secretly wanted to be a mechanic and knew it would make me truly happy.” Joanne has worked with King David Tyres for the past year where her friendly polite and professional customer service significantly increased the number of female customers coming in. She said: “Women customers love to hear my story and how I got into the industry, and I tell them it’s never too late to learn a trade!” Paul Tucker, sales manager at King David Tyres, said: “We all hold Joanne in high esteem and have been
Joanne Frowen from Tredegar amazed how quickly she has gained the appropriate knowledge. “She has worked very hard in a predominately male industry and has deservedly earned the respect of colleagues and customers alike.”