Buzz #3

BUZZ

BUZZ

WELCOME & CONTENTS

Welcome

Contents 2. What’s New 5. Top Tweets and Millie’s Corner

“Our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.” Martin Luther King Jr. This quote has always been in my mind as a business leader as it’s just as relevant to us as it was for Martin Luther King. We face challenges of change daily and we cannot hope to face these unless we really believe in what we are trying to do. We get up and believe, strap on the armor, grab the spade and prepare to dig in for the challenge ahead.

In this edition of BUZZ you will hear from some amazing Swarm friends about the need to focus on your business purpose and really believe in what you’re trying to do, the challenges they have faced and how to build up your own inner strength to tackle these challenges head on.

You will hear about our amazing Swarm apprentices doing fantastic things in their businesses and how each has been determined to make an impact, embraced empowerment and really made a difference.

6. Operations Update and Inside Swarm 8. Finding more inner strength, by Ian Hacon, Founder, Yellow Brick Road 11. Business Spotlight– Norfolk Veg Box 12. Believe in ‘Why?’ 14. Swarm experiences 

Why Simon Middleton, Director of The Shackleton, chose apprentice Harry to do digital marketing for his company

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Freebridge Community Housing apprentices make their pitches

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Chris Reeve, Swarm Apprenticeships, on doing The Benjamin Foundation Sleep Out 2015

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My apprentice experience so far, George Balding, DSP Supplies

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Why Lorna Burroughes, Director of Thrive Networking, took the big step in taking on her apprentice, and Oliver Marchant, Thrive’s apprentice, on the importance of networking

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Interview with Ormiston Victory Academy apprentices, Berri Lake and Vanessa Blyth, and a message from the Head, Naomi Palmer

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‘Apprenticeships as the foundation for life-long learning’, Carl Long, Swarm

26. Getting hired etiquette

28. Apprentice experiences 

Chris Perry–Swarm MD, @SwarmMD

Alice Henderson, SFEDI Awards & IOEE Award Nominee

29. Coffee Morning success & congratulations

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What’s new Amy supports the Swarm team Amy joined the Swarm team in August and she has hit the ground running, providing valuable back office support. Amy came to us after having been working as a receptionist at Wymondham Leisure Centre and a kids’ summer camp, where she was working with children during the holidays.

The age ranges were 5yrs to 15yrs, so clearly working with Swarm’s new Recruitment young people is nothing new to her. She joined us to support Assistant, Amy Coaker in the office before moving on to work in a local nursery where she feels her true passion is.

Amy is a footballer and plays every weekend during the season. When she was 12 she was awarded a trophy for being the best female footballer in South Norfolk. She is fond of the ‘Despicable Me’ minions – her favourite thing to do is kick back and relax with her minion slippers on. She also has a lively, energetic dog called Ruby that keeps her busy.

Amy was always ready with good ideas and enjoyed getting to know the businesses she was working directly with. She Minion madness! says: “I liked the thrill of filling a vacancy – not only does it mean someone has a fantastic opportunity on their hands, it’s also great achievement and progression for Swarm.”

Chris Perry, Managing Director of Swarm comments, “When I met Amy, she came across as having the real beginnings of a commercial attitude and an x factor that Swarm seeks to develop in our training programs in other businesses. On day two she proved it by coming up with new ideas and has not stopped since. I am sure that Amy will be a great addition to her new business, as she has provided such strong support to Swarm. We wish Amy all the best.”

Swarm Apprenticeships Ltd

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Ruby the Springer Spaniel

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What’s new Swarm’s new enterprising managers Due to the continued growth of Swarm across the East of England, Directors Chris and Robert are really pleased to announce the appointment of two new senior managers to the team. Carl Long and Lucy Martin have both joined to take Swarm to the next level and accelerate Swarm’s momentum.

Carl Long has been appointed as Commercial Manager of Swarm and will be leading a new commercial team in developing relationships with businesses and stakeholders across the East of England, “Having witnessed the very positive results of the Swarm method for both the employer and employee, I was very keen to join the team to use my enterprise experience to help expand our offerings geographically and the services provided.”

Lucy Martin has been appointed as Area Manager of Swarm and will be overseeing the operational arm of the business for the East of England as well as managing the Swarm Futures project, “These are exciting times to be with Swarm as we are continuing to grow and expand our horizons. The team and I are relishing the prospect of building relationships with new businesses as well as maintaining and nurturing the excellent rapport we already have with the businesses we are currently working with. The shape of the team has changed over the last few months and we are now in a position where we can offer a holistic approach to recruitment and post-recruitment care. I am very pleased to be on board and looking forward to the voyage.”

Both have been appointed to assist Managing Director, Chris Perry, in growing Swarm across the East of England and beyond.

Chris comments, “With the appointment of our two new Senior Managers, we can really start to gather the Swarm momentum and take our approach to apprenticeships and business training further than ever before.”

Left to right: Chris Perry, Carl Long, Lucy Martin, and Robert Ashton

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What’s New Swarm Futures Employability Training So far, Swarm Futures has come quite a long way, gaining a few successes. I have been in touch with quite a few people who have been very keen to get started on improving their employability skills, and there have even been ones that have already got onto a part time college course, but they are keen to do an apprenticeship in future.

There is currently a great need for employability training as there is no careers advice in schools, and this is being made apparent by the number of requests for help/advice preparing for work that are coming through via the Apprenticeships Norfolk website. The majority of requests come through this website, and the amount of these on their own is enough to keep me busy.

I have been reaching out to some candidates who apply for some of our vacancies, and a lot of them gladly accept the extra training that comes with applying for one of our vacancies. With some of the applicants, it’s quite clear that they don’t have much knowledge on how to apply for jobs and what the process is. Some don’t know what a covering letter is for or what needs to be included in it. In some cases, I have had to start their training right from the beginning.

The Area Manager, Lucy Martin, has been visiting a few young people in Great Yarmouth – referred by the Anchorage Trust – and they have improved massively. They have been taken through the whole course CV and covering letter writing and enterprise, interviews and life skills. They are now happy doing their chosen course at college. She has also been doing a few 1 – 1 visits with some applicants, and all of them clearly show a lot of ambition and want to have a successful career.

They want to progress – they just need some guidance and support to help them get the confidence to start applying for jobs in ways that will make them stand out as an applicant.

I have helped a few other people to get to the interview stage (I can only work so much magic over the phone and via email). One applicant in particular has taken into account our advice and as a result, she has had 3 job interviews in 2 weeks – which she was very pleased about. It’s this part of the job that I like, as the rest of it can be quite an uphill struggle.

We are now being supported by McDonald’s at Tuxwood, Brundell, and Norwich Airport! This is an excellent opportunity for people who want to contact us and get a good start in their career path. If you happen to be at one of these McDonald’s, look out for our leaflets there.

Shannon Watkins, Project CoOrdinator, @SwarmShannon www.swarmfutures.org.uk

Your path to a better future. Swarm Futures supports young people in getting the right job, training or career path and teaches enterprising business skills to help them stand out from the crowd.

Visit www.swarmfutures.org.uk to begin your journey today.

Swarm Apprenticeships Ltd

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Top Tweets We’ve seen some cracking tweets from both our apprentices and businesses recently. Celebrating success, making a point or merely joking around, we’ve captured the best of them for your benefit right here.

Millie’s Corner Who is Millie?

Millie is our Swarm mascot. She is a Chihuahua x Yorkshire Terrier who came to work with Jess one day and has been coming ever since. She doesn't do much, but whatever she does, it’s cute, and here we share some of that cuteness with you.

Here Millie cuddles up with a new friend….

Follow Millie on Twitter: @SwarmMillie Swarm Apprenticeships Swarm ApprenticeshipsLtd Ltd

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Operations Update It has been a roller coaster of a few weeks here in the office. There have been some major changes, with Amy joining the team and Jess moving across to work with the new Enterprise side of the business.

We have also seen Carl join the team as Commercial Manager.

The vacancies have been rolling in and we are busy filling them, there doesn’t seem to be a week go by at the moment where we haven’t got several applicants on interview. I think we find this as nerve wracking as the candidates do, we are waiting on tenterhooks for the phone call to come in to let us know that someone that we have nurtured through the process has been successful and gained a position with one of our very valued businesses.

We have had a change in provider as well so are dealing with everything that this brings with it. We now have direct access to the Apprenticeships website and the team has been ploughing through updating all our vacancies on there, which is no small job. The change in provider means that we now have a wider field of qualifications available to

us and this means we can pass on greater flexibility to our clients. All the apprenticeships we offer have the opportunity to add the Enterprise training which is synonymous with the Swarm brand. This is a newly refurbished course, which there will be more information about in a later edition, but it is a very exciting time for the company.

We currently have 12 vacancies on the wall to fill and are eagerly anticipating the arrival of more. I’d say life in the Ops room at Swarm Apprenticeships is buzzing along quite nicely but that might seem a little corny. The standard of applicants across the board is really high which is encouraging and means that we can find the ideal person for the role as advertised. We take a great deal of pride in our selection process and the team really go the extra mile to ensure that the right applicant goes to the correct vacancy, there is a constant dialogue between client and applicant through us.

Lucy Martin, Area Manager, Swarm Apprenticeships & Swarm Futures @SwarmLucy

Inside Swarm An interview with Lucy Martin, Area Manager, Swarm Apprenticeships & Swarm Futures What is your background? I joined the RAF at 19 and served for two and a half years as a Communications Systems Analyst. I was stationed in West Berlin during the mid 80s when the Cold War was heading for its end. I have also worked in hotel middle management, and administration for the Logistics Corps Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. For the last 12 years I have worked in the High School education system as a Pastoral Support Officer, working with 11-16 year olds and all the various challenges that life throws at them.

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Inside Swarm What did you want to be when you were younger? Well, I thought about several career options including; Air Hostess, Airport ground crew, nanny. The reasons these did not come to pass were because my heart wasn’t really in any of them, I always found an excuse why the position was not right for me.

At 18 I went to the RAF careers office to apply. I wanted to be a military policewoman. I was told quite unceremoniously that I was too light to be a policewoman – apparently there was a minimum weight. They came up with several other options including the trade I eventually entered, based on my educational ability. I later found a project I had written when I was 13 and forgotten all about that said my future ambition was to be a linguist in the RAF, which is exactly what I did.

Lucy ahead of her Pass Out Parade

What do you always carry with you to work? My mobile phone – I don’t go anywhere without it, if I ever forget it, it feels like my arm has been chopped off.

If you were Prime Minister, what one thing would you change? Probably the constant changes to funding for those most in need.

What do you like doing in your spare time? In good weather I like to be out in my huge and very wild garden. In rubbish weather I like nothing better than cosying up on the sofa, in front of my wood burner and watching a film. I also like cooking, going for long walks on the beach and socialising with friends.

What piece of advice would you say to your younger self? Take advice from those who have already made their mistakes if it is relevant to me. Saves so much time and trouble.

Tell us something that not many people know about you. I don’t think there is much, I’m quite an open person so don’t have many secrets. I suppose there is the fact that I speak 5 languages as well as English, though I don’t keep that to myself either. I took part in the Cutty Sark Tall Ships race in 1982 at the tender age of almost 17, which was incredibly good fun.

What famous person would most like to meet, and why? This is a really difficult question, it depends on the circumstances. If we are going for “I’d like to meet them because they are aesthetically pleasing to the eye” then Chris Hemsworth. If we are going for “I think the conversation would be amazing” then Boris Johnson gets my vote. www.swarmfutures.org.uk / @SwarmLucy Swarm Apprenticeships Ltd

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Finding More Inner Strength

When I talk about Finding More Inner Strength with my clients, I get them to recall a difficult situation they have faced in the past and how they overcame it. This almost always results in quite a few tears, as the memory of that time is played back. Quite often at the time, we are just surviving, and whilst we usually come out the other side, we did not equip ourselves to deal with it. I’m not saying life’s challenges are not going to affect us, a close bereavement for instance is going to have a profound effect on us, but we can be better prepared.

This is what we call inner strength; others might call resilience or grit. The definition of strength is the capacity to withstand great pressure and inner means mental, which frames the point nicely – do you have a strong brain? For me it’s a bit more, it’s our ability to solve problems and achieve results from within, and learn and grow.

In his famous Rice Stadium Moon Speech in 1962, John F Kennedy talked about overcoming the impossible task of putting a man on the moon, he said;

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“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade, not because it is easy, but because it is hard, because that goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”

He went on to say, “We shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body, and then return it safely to earth, re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun and do all this, and do it right, and do it first before this decade is out--then we must be bold.”

I’ve been using this speech as inspiration now for most of my career and it never tires. This is as much about purpose as it is inner strength, and the two are so closely linked. It is that sense of purpose that gives us all the grittiness and resolve to overcome the challenges we face.

So why is inner strength important?

According to Suzanne Kobasa in her studies on Hardiness, challenge is key in resilience and wellbeing. Dr. Paul T. Bartone, who studies Kobasa’s work, goes on to say; “The hardy style includes a strong sense of Commitment, Control, and Challenge. Commitment is the tendency to see the world as interesting and meaningful. Control is the belief in one’s own ability to control or influence events. Challenge involves seeing change and new

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experiences as exciting opportunities to learn and develop. The hardy style person is also courageous in dealing with new experiences as well as disappointments, and tends to be highly competent.

The high hardy person is not impervious to stress, but is strongly resilient in responding to a range of stressful conditions. Recent studies have shown that persons high in hardiness not only remain healthy, but also perform better under stress.”

Finding More Inner Strength then takes steps to make improvements. There are a few different scales around, but the one I like the most is Angela Lee Duckworth’s Grit Scale.

She talks about this in her Ted Talk on the subject.

She says;

“Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with It’s also fair to say we need big thinking to overcome your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, some of the major issues we face both in our own not just for the month, but for years, and working lives and on a global scale. Without it we are more really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living likely to just give up or take the route with least life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” resistance.

“Courage is not the absence of fear - it's the realisation that there is something more important than fear. Likewise, success is not the absence of failure. It’s the realization that succeeding is more important than failing.” - Franklin Roosevelt I use the following equation for Inner Strength: Inner Strength = Courage X Purpose X Perseverance If any one of the above is Zero, the sum becomes Zero.

“What I do know is that talent doesn’t make you gritty. Our data shows very clearly that there are many talented individuals who simply do not follow through on their commitments. In fact, in our data, grit is usually unrelated or even inversely related to measures of talent.”

Her research is well founded and statistically robust.

You can complete your own grit score via Duckworth’s research site at Penn University.

So now you know how gritty you are, what are you going to do about it?

So how do we Find More Inner Strength?

Continued >>>

It goes without saying that having more purpose, eating right, exercising, getting more sleep and being mindful will almost certainly give us more inner strength.

In this article, I will explore some of the aspects I talk about to clients; 1. Measure Your Inner Strength As Peter Drucker said, what gets measured, gets done. By measuring your Inner Strength you can Swarm Apprenticeships Ltd

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Finding More Inner Strength Steps 2 – 6 look at how to cultivate a Growth Mindset based on Carol Dweck’s research.

2. Develop Your Skills

Growth Mindsetters see feedback as useful and something to learn from and essential, they actively seek it out. Fixed Mindsetters get defensive and take it personally. I’ve learnt to be more accepting of feedback and not to take it personally, this is hard to do, but once you embrace it, it’s really empowering.

Individuals without a fixed mindset believe intelligence, skill and ability are something you are born with, you’ve got it or you haven’t. Growth Think about any feedback you have had on your mindsetters believe in developing skills. Research situation and how you handled it. What could you do shows to be truly great at something we need to do it different because of it? for around 10 years and keep working at it.

6. Use Setbacks Think about David Beckham, Mohammed Ali and Michael Jordon, all famously brilliant at their sports, Growth Mindsetters embrace setbacks; they treat and all famous for working really hard at their game. them as a wakeup call to work harder next time.

Ali studied everything about his opponents’ game.

Fixed Mindsetters blame others. John McEnroe was Beckham and Jordon were both famous for training a famous Fixed Mindsetter, always blaming, in long after everyone else went home. spectacular fashion, others for his setbacks.

Think about how you can further develop your skills in a tough situation you’re in right now.

3. Overcome Challenges People with the Growth Mindset see challenges as an opportunity to embrace and grow from. Fixed Mindsetters avoid them and give up easily. They don’t want to get found out as a failure so don’t try.

Think about how you usually respond to setbacks.

Think about setbacks in your situation; what you can use from them to try harder next time?

If you apply and practice these simple steps, you could find more inner strength.

Think about that situation again, what have you already given up on? What could you persist with more?

4. Apply Effort Growth Mindsetters see effort as a rite of passage and essential to success. Fixed Mindsetters feel it’s unnecessary – if you’re good enough, it will happen.

Think about the effort you are applying to the situation, could you apply more?

Ian Hacon, Founder, Yellow Brick Road, www.yellowbrickroad.co.uk Ian is a leadership coach, trainer and public speaker who specialises in unlocking the individual leader through a journey of self-discovery and improvement so they can in turn build great organisations.

5. Listen to Feedback Swarm Apprenticeships Ltd

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Business spotlight Norfolk Veg Box is a one-stop-shop for buying local seasonal produce. From potatoes and carrots to goats cheese and rapeseed oil. We bring together local produce and deliver it. We work with growers and food producers from all over the county to bring together as much Norfolk produce as we can. Through our website, we provide customers with the option of either purchasing ‘set’ boxes or specifying exactly what they would like in their box. As a business our main aim is to promote the use of local seasonal produce. Along the way we support several local food producers, keeping food miles low and money cycling through the local economy.

Why was it set up? We felt there was a real disconnection between people and where their food comes from. At the same time we knew there was a real passion in Norfolk for buying local. So we thought, is there something we could do to address that, and the idea of Norfolk Veg Box formed.

What's it's history? It all started at a Christmas shopping market in Hingham. The organisers had invited my brother to have a stall selling his free range chicken eggs. It just so happened that when they asked him we’d been talking about veg boxes. So he asked if they’d let us have a combined stall with eggs and vegetables. They said yes, and so, on cold damp Sunday morning we set up our stall and armed with a few leaflets set about trying to get some orders. It was a successful enough start to encourage us to give it a go. Since then we have increased the areas to which we deliver, and from delivering one afternoon each week we now deliver Monday to Friday. At weekends you’ll find us attending farmer’s markets promoting what we do and selling direct to customers face to face.

Any new developments on the horizon? Absolutely. We’re looking to do much more with our website and social media. We’re also looking to develop our product range and a few new farm additions may be on the cards.

What can an apprentice do for your business? Simple: help us grow. We see an apprentice as someone who is hungry to learn about the business, gain experience in various functions and prove their worth to us. Just like any team member. One of the benefits will be freeing my time up a little. Another will be providing additional man-power when it comes to events and high demand times of the year.

What can you see outside your office window? Well it depends what you call the office. For the majority of the week my office is the delivery van, and I get to see so much of Norfolk. From Thetford Forest, the North Norfolk coast, Norwich City centre and the A11, I see Norfolk in all it’s glory, rain or shine. When I’m back at base though the office window looks out over the farmyard and onto the surrounding fields where the chickens and horses graze.

What's the one thing you never leave for work without? Unfortunately it’s probably my mobile phone. You never know who may want to get in touch and what opportunity you may miss if you didn’t have it available.

Richard Ewin, Owner www.norfolkvegbox.com ~ @norfolkveg An exciting and growing Norfolk business, Norfolk Veg Box are looking to hire a Business Development Apprentice to work across all aspects of the business in Great Ellingham. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone to develop a great variety of business skills. Full details can be found on our website

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Believe in ‘Why?’

you.

You see to me, money in business is like putting fuel in a car. You need it to get to a destination but it is not the destination itself.

If it was, all you would do is drive from the petrol station home again and then back to the petrol station as you have used fuel to get home... and so on and so on.

When I say you need purpose, you need to know why you do what you do and not what you do. You need to define what you are trying to achieve with your service or new “A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the product and it has to be more than just course of history.” - Mahatma Gandhi offering a better quality, cheaper version of something that someone else does. Even if Everything starts with a question. Being you do have a unique product that nobody naturally inquisitive is a trait that the truest else has, if you can’t bring people with you innovators, leading entrepreneurs and thought leaders all have in common. At some on a journey that they believe in then it won’t point they all asked the question ‘Why?’ Why be as big a success as it could be. do they do what they do and why should You have to ask yourself ‘Why are we others believe in it too? In simple terms they making this? Why do we do what we do?’ set their vision on their unmovable purpose To prove a point, ask any social enterprise or and the reason why they get up in the charity why they do what they do and their morning. whole existence is based on a purpose. It is In today’s world we see so many people set what they do without thinking about it, in fact up and want to grow their business idea they can only exist by bringing people along because of a pursuit of money. Their purpose with them on a journey. is to make money and that is success.

Imagine if like a social enterprise, your To me, money is not a purpose, it’s a bycommercial business idea or product could product or result of pursuing a vision that you have that clear and passionate purpose that can clearly communicate, create a following you and others could really believe in. A and bring others along on the journey with Swarm Apprenticeships Ltd

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Believe in ‘Why?’ vision that can engage the passions of early adopters and starts to challenge perceptions of your customers or target market. Apple did it, Dyson did it and so did Richard Branson with Virgin. All came from a firm vision and purpose that endured to achieve something that transcended money and inspired a new way of thinking. They made their brands count for something that had purpose.

to develop a new generation of commercially aware apprentices. A real vision of what could be achieved if we could develop young professional minds to understand the bigger picture in their business, apply entrepreneurial skills in their roles and inspire them to deliver the greatest measurable impact and return, both commercially and indeed socially.

When they started in their business, people in their organisations weren’t the best qualified at what they did or were the best equipped in the world. They didn’t necessarily have a unique product at the time that changed the world, but what they did have was a real belief in a purpose that drove them forward and they knew others would follow. They truly had a vision and a message that was more than just a mission statement but they captured people’s imagination, redefined desires and set a trend by challenging the status quo and showing people not what they want, but showing them why they should want it.

We don’t just want to “do” apprenticeships, we want to redefine them and just maybe change the world in the process.

In business the saying goes, people buy people. But they follow dreams. Find some early adopters, get them to follow your dream, and make it their reality and believe in it. And the money will come.

“It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief.

And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.” - Muhammad Ali Chris Perry, Managing Director, Swarm @SwarmMD

People don’t know what they don’t know and customers are no different. They may know what they want but sometimes we have to show them what’s possible. That’s how we set a standard, define a generation and create a new market.

In my business, Swarm was born from desire Swarm Apprenticeships Ltd

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Swarm Experiences Why Simon chose apprentice Harry to do digital marketing for The Shackleton The Shackleton is a lifestyle brand completely focused on manufacturing great products in Britain. The rapidly growing business based in Norfolk, makes musical instruments (primarily banjos), beer and clothing.

We helped the Director of the business Simon Middleton scout out Harry Saleh, now his Swarm apprentice. As you'll realise below, he isn't the standard apprentice...

Simon Middleton, Director of The Shackleton, with Harry Saleh, apprentice

Simon - why choose Swarm apprentice Harry to manage your digital marketing?

Firstly, he understands it! On top of that Harry is enthusiastic about it, spotting opportunities in the digital world all the time and he's a really great communicator. The great thing is Harry has an interest in photography. This means we've given him the empowerment to do all of our product photography for our digital marketing, which is incredibly important to us.

Simon - why is having someone focus on digital marketing important for your business?

For a new brand, especially one trying to grow very fast, digital marketing is absolutely critical to our success. It is the largest part of our marketing effort and it's vital to have someone creative and diligent all over it!

Harry - what are your responsibilities when it comes to digital marketing?

I'm responsible for the majority of our presence and image on The Shackleton's social media accounts and the product photography. These two aspects of the job fit together incredibly well and allow me to create content while getting images that we can use for our website, catalogues and marketing.

Harry - what are your top 5 digital marketing tips?

A picture can be worth - well, maybe not a thousand, but - a lot of words. On the faster moving social media platforms it's fairly easy to scroll past a number of posts without reading a single word, but a good image is a lot harder to ignore. For a large proportion of your audience, one quick glance will give them enough information to decide if they're interested in your post. On top of that, posts that include an image are a lot more likely to be shared.

For smaller businesses, great content isn't always enough. Interaction with other social media users and businesses can play a very significant role in growth. Creating relationships and working with other appropriate businesses is a great way to boost your growth and sales.

Find a base for all of your images. Flickr has been an invaluable resource to us, I can store all of our

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Swarm Experiences images in one organised place and simply download them whenever they're needed, in any size and on any device. It has provided us with a hassle-free method of sharing images within the company.

Social media management sites are a great way to save time and schedule posts for effective timing. With the recent introduction of Instagram on some of these sites - which can usually only be used through a phone or tablet - they've become more useful than ever.

Competitions and giveaways are great ways to create a buzz around your business and get your name out there. They may not immediately lead to a growth in sales, but the activity generated will make you a lot easier to find, especially when sharing hashtags or when links to your site are involved.

The Shackleton is a fantastic brand that we're really proud of working with at Swarm. Check out their website and follow them on Twitter: @TheShackletonCo www.shackletoncompany.com

First apprentices pitch business ideas Managers from Freebridge Community Housing and Norfolk County Council Adult Education attended presentations on 18th June from two successful enterprise apprentices. They were required to make a pitch of a new business opportunity to their employers, and is the conclusion of this year long apprenticeship which provides training in all areas of business development, including the proposal and implementation of new business opportunities and visions.

Alice Henderson was appointed as an enterprise apprentice working for Robert Clarke, Director of Housing for Freebridge Community Housing a year ago, and her innovative pitch was focused around raising tenant engagement to boost community social return for her employer. Her well communicated pitch, included a clear vision to increase tenant engagement through a new approach to marketing and promoting community events. The pitch was excellently supported by a detailed breakdown of the social return they could expect from this community investment and a clear costing model outlining initial investment, profit margins and how profit would be re-invested in local community projects.

Robert Clarke commented that having Alice as an apprentice has had a significant impact on their work at Freebridge, in particular around their community engagement work and he was delighted with her progress. He confirmed both apprentices have secured permanent contracts of employment with the organisation. www.freebridge.org.uk @freebridge

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Swarm Experiences The Benjamin Foundation Sleep Out 2015 I am proud to say I took part in the Norwich Sleep Out 2015. “Why? Are you bonkers?!” I hear you ask.

The Benjamin Foundation do an absolutely outstanding job. In my opinion, not enough people (especially in Norfolk) appreciate this!

Helping around 2,000 people each year across the county, they’re diverse in what they do – helping homeless young adults, providing holiday clubs and nursery facilities for young children, and working in over 80 schools to support pupils and their parents where relationships need rebuilding. These are issues that not only need making right, but everyone should be more aware of. By taking part in the Norwich Sleep Out 2015, I wanted to raise as much awareness as possible, as well as much needed donations for The Benjamin Foundation.

When I signed up for this challenge, it really did make me think.

Imagine being out in the cold, at night, on your own, with nowhere to go... take a moment and try and picture yourself there. It’s so vitally important that we try and do as much as we can to help the people in that situation, more often than not, it’s not even their own fault.

Do something! Here’s how you can make a difference - please do donate to The Benjamin Foundation. You can do this via my online fundraising page here. The third step to help is to spread the word!

This is important too - please head onto The Benjamin Foundation Twitter page (@TBFNorfolk) and retweet messages about the Norwich Sleep Out 2015 (#SleepOut).

Back left to right; Tony Ing, CEO of The Benjamin Foundation; Tammy Parnell, Managing Partner of Clapham and Collinge; Matt Garrod, Director of The Benjamin Foundation. Front: Louis Hilldrup-Boorman

Thank you for your support for The Benjamin Foundation and my full blog on how the night went will be available on the Swarm website as soon as I have had enough sleep to be able to keep awake to write it!

Chris Reeve @ChrisReevo / @SwarmChris

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My apprentice experience so far‌

Swarm Experiences

After finishing college, I knew I didn’t want to go to university.

The idea of finishing a degree in 3 years and coming out into the world where I would have debt up to my eyeballs and no job to go into worried me greatly, which is why I looked for alternatives and ultimately came across Swarm.

Having had a friend who had already gone through the Swarm apprenticeship programme with great success, I knew that by being a Swarm apprentice I would gain both the practical skills and the knowledge needed in order to succeed in my future George with his manager, Shane Clark career. What I felt was different about the Swarm apprenticeship compared to other apprenticeship providers, is the focus to coach and develop a more business-like mindset, which I felt would be ideal for someone like me.

When starting the apprenticeship, you are asked to identify areas you feel you need to improve. For example I identified a lack of confidence as a major drawback for myself. Having now done the apprenticeship for 5 months and having gone to every workshop session, I feel I have gone from strength to strength in terms of improving my confidence, which is having great effects on the work I do for my apprenticeship and also work I do for the company I am part of.

The workshops are done once a month and each session has a different area to focus on. The group size is kept quite small, with between 5 to 10 people for each session to allow for discussions to happen. This is great and happens frequently during the workshops, and it feels a lot like a 1:1 session when in a small group, something which I feel is a lot more comfortable and useful. The balance between writing work, note taking and performing practical tasks as a group allow the workshops to maintain fresh throughout the whole day as well as useful and informative.

Another element of the workshops which I find useful and interesting is the frequent use of guest speakers, for example Chris Perry who is Managing Director of Swarm and also local business entrepreneurs such as Alex Tosh, who is Founder of the company Creative Sponge. By having guest speakers we can gain real world advice on how we should approach tasks for our apprenticeship courses and advice on how we should go about setting up and running our own companies in the future, which is something I have become more interested in doing since starting the apprenticeship.

As well as workshops every month, 1:1 meetings with your assessor are had every month to make sure that you are progressing as expected and keeping up to date with the work, something which I find beneficial as it allows me to stay focused on what I need to do each month.

Overall life as a Swarm apprentice could not be better. The workshops are both fun and, most importantly, useful and informative, and everyone involved in the running of the apprenticeship is very supportive and clearly want to help and watch you succeed. My advice to anyone who is interested in becoming an apprentice is to become a Swarm apprentice!

George Balding, Trainee Assistant Manager, DSP Supplies Swarm Apprenticeships Ltd

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Swarm Experiences “I feel lucky to have the chance to help a young entrepreneur navigate his first years in business.�

possibilities for my business, Thrive, and for Ollie too.

In fact, it was Ollie's go-getter attitude that helped us to come to a pivotal decision about his apprenticeship at the very beginning of the journey.

I'd thought I needed a Level 2 Business Administration apprentice but when Ollie showed me an EDP article on Level 3 Enterprising Skills in a Business Environment, things changed. We agreed that not only was Ollie more suited to that, but this apprenticeship would be more exciting and give him far better long-term career prospects. It also felt more in-tune with Thrive's ethos.

A Swarm apprentice is coached and mentored to develop a more business-like mindset. My parents were business owners and while growing up I was quite used to having business discussed around the kitchen table at home. When I got married, I too was being an entrepreneur, being commercially aware and starting various successful business ventures, alongside bringing up a young family. To me having a business-like mindset, while being enterprising and effective, with the ability to deliver return on my investment was what I was looking for in an apprentice.

Taking on an apprentice is a big step for any small business owner. There are many companies out there who can guide you to recruit and appoint an apprentice - but then the help stops. I knew this model could never work for me. I needed to work with an apprentice provider who would find me the right person and then continue to support us as we embarked on a new era of working together. That's why I turned to Swarm.

I'd been looking for help in my business for a while, and trying to outsource aspects of my business hadn't worked out as I'd hoped. It was clear I needed another pair of hands, but to take on an apprentice wasn't a quick fix but a long-term investment and a bit of a risk. But once I got to know Ollie, I felt very reassured. Smart and hardworking, this was a young business person with great potential, and I was excited about the Swarm Apprenticeships Ltd

Why Swarm? I feel passionately that our education system doesn't suit everyone. Many young people are pushed down the university route when it isn't right for them and has no guarantee of a job at the end of it. Apprenticeships are a great way to give young people who aren't suited to academia, a chance to carve out a career and learn important skills. It's a shame that some still labour under the misapprehension that they are merely a way to buy in cheap labour. To view apprenticeships that way is to miss the true worth of them. I feel lucky to have the chance to help a young entrepreneur navigate his first years in business and to have his fresh perspective in my company. It's a two-way partnership from which I believe we will both learn a lot. I'm glad that Swarm matched us up and remain active in helping us along this journey. It's going to be exciting to see where it leads us all.

Lorna Burroughes, Thrive @ThriveBuzz / @LornaBurroughes www.thrive.buzz

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The importance of networking It turns out there is more to life than the school bubble I’ve sat in for the last 13 years. While some of what I learnt at school has turned out to be useful, after nearly four months into my first full-time job I’ve learnt a lot, too much to write in one go.

What I’ve learnt about the most is networking. Like most people my age, I had only really heard the word ‘networking’ if it was preceded by the word ‘social’. I already knew that social networking was important for businesses, but my apprenticeship with Thrive has taught me the importance and power of face-to-face networking.

Due to the nature of my job I attend regular networking events that Thrive host and I have also attended some networking meetings run by other networking companies. At first I was sceptical; would people just stand up and try to sell themselves to me in 30 seconds before hitting me with a tidal wave of business cards? Occasionally it has been like this, although thankfully not at any Thrive meetings. My scepticism was quickly left behind and thanks to my Swarm apprenticeship and Thrive I now know what networking is really about.

Networking is about developing your connections for growth; I’ll admit this sounds like quite a general statement like I’m trying to avoid the question of ‘what is networking about?’, but nevertheless the statement rings true. My apprenticeship has taught me that since I first started developing relationships with other humans I started to network. Networking isn’t just done at a business breakfast with people in suits meeting on a regular basis to discuss business and sell themselves. Networking is done on nights out, on the bus, when you join a new school or job, networking is done anywhere and everywhere, we make connections everywhere we go. Connections made through networking cause growth in 2 main ways: personal growth and business growth.

Networking happens across nearly every aspect of

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Swarm Experiences life, which is why a statement answering the question ‘what is networking about?’ will, in my opinion, always be generalised.

The final thing I’ve learnt so far during my apprenticeship is that networking meetings and events are lacking young people; I am the youngest at all of the events I attend by a long way. But there is an appetite to encourage younger people to join in, and bring a fresh approach and perspective. But understandably young people can be scared of attending networking events, and don’t see a need to network because they are either sat comfortably in a job or consider it unnecessary. However, groups like Norwich Rotaract are setting out to change young people’s views on networking. It’s not as scary as it seems, especially if you find a group with a style that suits you. It is necessary for any young professional as networking is not about immediate gratification. You should never attend a networking event with the intent of walking out of it with business because that’s never going to happen and if it does it won’t be a sustainable source of work. Networking is about playing the long game, building new and strengthening existing relationships, offering help and solutions when you can. Most importantly it's about remaining in the front of people's minds so that when one of your connections hears of someone looking for someone who specialises in your profession they know exactly where to send them. I've taken on those lessons, and I approach networking now in the knowledge it's the long game, and discovering how I can help those in the groups I attend. I'm hoping to encourage other young professionals to embrace networking and to use it as effectively as possible.

That's how we'll build the strong business networks of the future.

Oliver Marchant, Thrive @ThriveBuzz www.thrive.buzz

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Swarm Experiences Interview with Berri Lake, Administration Support Apprentice, and Vanessa Blyth, Sixth Form Apprentice, Ormiston Victory Academy How’s your project going? What are you doing for it?

Berri: It’s going alright – I’ve got the baseline idea, which is that I’m going to work with the beauty department and develop their accounts, which they don’t really manage at the moment, and develop a website for them as well I think.

Ness: The project is going good at the moment – the project isn’t about raising money, though, it’s about raising awareness of apprenticeships here in the academy.

How has Swarm helped you throughout your project so far?

Berri: It’s given me an idea of what I need to put in the project, as it’s helped me with all the theory side of things, because in the training sessions you learn certain things, which you can then apply to your project.

Ness: It’s been good, it teaches you all the business side of things, all the techniques that really apply to me doing my project, and helped me to carry them out.

How has Swarm helped you to generate a return on investment?

Berri: In general, I think that it’s made the business that I work in more efficient, because there’s now two of us on Student Services, I can cover reception, I can cover Reprographics, I’ve learnt to do a lot of things, and I’ve got a lot more skills to make the business more efficient. There is also the beauty services, and because they don’t know what their cash flow is like or anything, me helping them out with their accounts would definitely help this business out as well.

Ness: Swarm have always helped me with ROI via the mentoring and the support via emails.

Throughout the apprenticeship, what have you enjoyed so far?

Vanessa and Berri, Ormiston Victory Academy apprentices

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Berri: All of it. All of the opportunities that I’ve been given while I’ve been here have been amazing. I’ve done first aid training, I can do student services on my own, and I can cover reception. I’ve just been given so many amazing opportunities, and I feel really grateful for it, and you feel appreciated as well, which is lovely. For Student

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Swarm Experiences Services, you are basically the reception desk for the students, so they come to you for whatever they need, whether it’s a new planner, or advice on something, and because I’m nearer their age than other people, they will happily talk to me about it, because I’ve recently been there, in their position, and I can completely sympathise with them. There is obviously first aid involved as well.

Ness: I’ve enjoyed all of it. There’s so many different things that I get to do, and I enjoy the workshops.

How has the apprenticeship developed your skills so far?

Berri: It’s made me more confident, I was quite shy before this, and because I’ve been put in a role where you have to be quite confident, and in charge – it’s definitely developed that. I was already quite organised, and it’s helped that as well. I can also pick up the phone to numbers that I don’t know, because now I have to do that every day.

Ness: Doing the Swarm qualification has definitely developed my skills – I’ve been learning new stuff, and there’s something different and new to learn every day.

What do you think is the most important thing you’ve learnt so far?

Berri: To have a plan of what you’re going to do, and when you’re going to do it by, and make sure that your work doesn’t get on top of you and basically just to make sure that you’re on top of it and organised.

Ness: One of the most important things I’ve learnt is how to work with loads of different people every day.

What’s your overall opinion of Swarm Apprenticeships?

Berri: I think it’s really good! I think that the Swarm qualification is different to a normal business admin one. This one is more inventive and you get a lot more involved, and Swarm are amazing!

Vanessa, Sixth Form Apprentice at Ormiston Victory Academy

Ness: My overall opinion of the Swarm qualification is that it applies so well, and it can apply to any situation, and it definitely help you out whilst doing the projects. I think that Swarm is great!

Would you recommend other young people to become Swarm apprentices, and why?

Berri: Definitely, because Swarm are just so with it and new, and they’re always there – they give you all the help you need, whereas other places may not do that and it’s an experience.

Ness: I would definitely recommend young people to become Swarm apprentices, because Swarm Continued >>> Swarm Apprenticeships Ltd

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Swarm Experiences teaches the mentality of standing out from the crowd.

Berri, you were nominated for the Rising Star award, and were highly commended. How did you feel before the ceremony?

Berri: I was so nervous beforehand, because I’ve never been to a proper awards evening before, so going to that and because there were these other big names there, with people that have done really well, it’s really scary, actually. But it was really nice, the people there are really friendly. I got talking to the Inspired Youth people, and they were really nice, and they gave you pointers and everything. It was great!

How did you feel afterwards?

Berri, Administration Support Apprentice at Ormiston Victory Academy

Berri: Relieved that it was over – but really grateful for being nominated, because you don’t expect to be nominated for something like that, and I didn’t know that I had been nominated until I was short-listed, so everyone was hiding it from me... but I just feel so honoured. I would definitely say that Swarm has played a big part in me being nominated in the first place.

What do you both think the future holds?

Berri: Well, very big things hopefully. I’d love to stay here, that would be amazing. I want to finish this qualification, and then take every opportunity that I can.

Ness: I hope that big things will be in store for me when I finish the Swarm qualification. It’s a shame that we don’t have a crystal ball so that we can see in

to the future.

Message from the Head…

Taking on Swarm Apprenticeships has been absolutely fantastic for the school. I think that what the apprentices offer the academy is fantastic and in return they have a fantastic opportunity to get into work, and gain excellent grounding to work in other schools as there are so many different opportunities available to work in schools. Institutions are always looking out for those with experience with data systems, dealing with young people, and handling emotional parents.

Offering additional opportunities for someone from the community, especially in a teaching role, does good for the community. Berri has grown massively in confidence and can do a wide range of tasks with relentless optimism which is hugely valuable within a school. There’s such positive energy from someone so young. It’s nice to be able to show her commitment and hard work to other Ormiston schools to set an Swarm Apprenticeships Ltd

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Swarm Experiences example. Vanessa works tirelessly too and organises business meetings, conducts working lunches, supports school trips; she does above and beyond what the role is and demonstrates the willingness to get involved in the community. It was nice to see the Rising Star Award that would recognise the work of young people- Berri had gone above and beyond her work around that time and it was massively deserved.

All of our Swarm apprentices are worth their weight in gold, we get great value for money but it’s difficult to put it into a monetary value. We’re totally on board with the Swarm programme and have already been discussing the programme with other education providers. We’ve also had coverage in news publications which has got the message out about the programme. I’ve also written articles about the value Swarm and apprentices have added to spread the word.

Berri has skills in so many different areas, there’s a whole manner of roles she could do. You have to be flexible in this type of job, and Vanessa has also shown wide skills, especially in communication when it comes to organising our events. Talking to the businesses is hard, but she does it all the time to make the careers events happens, and she does it well. I can definitely see world domination in the future for both of them.

Naomi Palmer, Head of Ormiston Victory Academy. www.ormistonvictoryacademy.co.uk @VictoryAcad

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Swarm Experiences Apprenticeships provide the foundation for life-long learning Although I have been involved in training and mentoring colleagues and clients over the past three decades, it is only in the last year that I have started working with apprentices. In order for me to offer the best support I can, I asked myself the question: “What is an apprentice?”

The best way to answer this was to find my ideal apprentice. Who had achieved notable success by using their apprenticeship? The answer came to me very quickly…My dad, Mike Long (who sadly passed away last year). If I was to summarise him, his belief was that you should always do your best to make your best better.

Dad left school in the mid-1950s with 5 O levels. He was a gifted sportsman and could have become an apprentice professional footballer. However he chose to become an apprentice electrical engineer. This was better paid than an apprentice footballer, and electrical engineering was the “new” of the day. Mike successfully completed his apprenticeship at the Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern. Malvern was also where he met and married my mother, Morwenna.

What doors did Mike’s electrical engineering apprenticeship open for this young couple? Firstly there was broadcast engineering. He worked at Granada Television in Wales (my older brother was born in Cardiff), Channel Television (I was born in Jersey), Grampian in Scotland and then Thames Television in London.

Mike was then offered the opportunity to pursue his broadcast engineering career in America. British broadcast engineers then, as they still are now, were amongst the most sought after in the world. However remember he was not alone. In doing this he was moving his young family to a place they knew little about.

Mike & Wen felt this would give them opportunities beyond those available to them in Britain at that time.

Mike continued his broadcast engineering career in the US, first in Alaska, then in North Carolina (where my younger brother was born). From there Mike found a new opportunity. A small organisation known as NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration) became interested in this young broadcast engineer from Britain. So his young family drove halfway across the US to their new home in Houston, Texas.

This young man from Britain was then part of “mission control”, working with Apollo 11, when it landed on the moon. Not bad for a former (come on to this later) apprentice. After this life must have been pretty boring. Well, actually, no it was not. In addition to advancements in space there were advancements in other areas on earth that gave Mike new opportunities.

Shortly after working with Apollo 11, the Long family of 6 (my younger sister was born in Houston) drove the rest of the way across the US to California. Mike became one of the first generation of sales professionals in Silicon Valley, California. He had entered the computer age.

After three years in California it was time for the return trip, and Mike was able to bring his computer skills back to Britain, where he continued working at high levels until the 1990s in the ever evolving IT industry, as it became known.

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Swarm Experiences As I said before, not bad for a former apprentice. Mike would not have used the word former. He was proud to say that he was an apprentice. This was not just because of his qualification in the 1950s, but more because, as I also said before, he believed in doing the best to make your best better.

He applied that to himself in work and with his family. In doing this he always endeavoured to help others do the same. He was only able to have the career and life development because he was always willing to learn, a skill he honed while doing his electrical engineering apprenticeship at the Royal Radar Establishment in the 1950s. Dad was always learning. He was always an apprentice.

When I went into the IT industry, I was a university graduate. Over the last 30 years the pace of development in IT – where and how it can be used - has accelerated dramatically. I have had to keep learning.

Now with this new addition to my career path, working with apprentices, I have given myself something new to learn. I am pleased about this. I am a learner. I would like to believe: I am an apprentice.

Carl Long, Commercial Manager, Swarm Enterprise @CarlSLong

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Etiquette can get you hired Discover how simple etiquette can get you hired In my role as Area Manager for Swarm, I am involved with both the employability training and the recruitment of apprentices. One of the biggest frustrations we as a team have is receiving applications for vacancies and when we try to contact the individual, they either fail to answer their phone or hang up without warning during the call. We always leave a message and follow up with an email, but nine times out of ten we hear nothing else.

Swarm Futures is here to help with the application process from the ground up. We help write CVs, we help prepare covering letters, we research relevant courses or vacancies and we are here to support right the way through to post interview. We receive daily requests for assistance with CVs; which we are more than happy to provide, however when we try to contact these customers following receipt of their new CV we are more often than not hitting a brick wall.

In life we all have to do things that we are uncomfortable with, if we don't try we can't succeed and doing something every day that scares you helps you grow as a person.

From the apprenticeships side; we receive a high number of high quality applicants for the numerous vacancies we have on offer. Getting hold of these applicants to preinterview presents a challenge. Again, we ring, leave messages that go unanswered and send emails that are not responded to. Without these pre-interviews we are unable to send the potential bright star across to their awaiting future.

We get candidates with real potential, who we preinterview and then send across to the employer, full of praise and hope. Then they fail to turn up for the interview and are uncontactable! This not only makes them look bad, but also reflects on the good work we do.

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Etiquette can get you hired If you apply for a vacancy, whether it be an apprenticeship or full-time/part-time role, expect to be called; answer your phone, or respond to other messages, we might be able to help you into your future career! Everyone gets interview nerves, we have experienced staff on the end of the phone who can talk you through the best way to handle an upcoming interview and the correct etiquette to follow in the event that you are unable to attend an interview. We can also arrange face to face support if needs be.

Good manners cost nothing and open doors. Don't do yourself out of your bright, shiny future by failing to answer that call, the one that could change your future forever!

Top 5 tips on preparing for an interview; 1. Be punctual, if you cannot attend, always make contact, be it via text, email or call, ALWAYS let the business know you won’t be there 2. Dress smartly and wear a smile 3. Reacquaint yourself with the vacancy details and research the company that is interviewing you 4. Speak clearly and prepare in advance any questions you wish to ask 5. Make sure you know where you’re going; have the business address to hand and if needs be, take time to locate the business premises in advance so you already know the journey you will have to take to get there.

Lucy Martin, Area Manager for Swarm Apprenticeships and Swarm Futures lucy@swarmfutures.org / @SwarmLucy / www.swarmfutures.org

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Are you a Swarm business or apprentice and have some news you’d like to get into the next issue? We’d love to hear from you! Send Jess an email on jess@swarmenterprise.org.uk with the outline of your content.

Contact Us

Give us a call for more information about our vacancies Swarm Apprenticeships Turnpike Business Centre London Road Suton Wymondham NR18 9SS 01953 609752 info@swarmapprentice.org.uk Visit us on the web at www.swarmapprentice.org.uk

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Apprentice experiences Swarm Apprentice Award Nominee Alice Henderson, who recently completed her Swarm enterprise apprenticeship with Freebridge Housing was nominated for The Enterprise Learner of the Year Award held at the House of Lords on the 4th of November.

The award nominations was for recognition of an individual who has both embraced their learning programme with passion, and also shown a commitment to applying their newly acquired skills to pursue an enterprising activity.

The annual event was hosted by the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (IOEE) and the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI). It brought together educators, entrepreneurs and other key figures from the UK’s small business, enterprise and skills sector.

Alice Henderson, an Enterprise Apprentice at Freebridge Community Housing in West Norfolk, has proven herself to be hard-working, meticulous, professional and able to use criticism constructively to improve her skills. At the end of her programme, Alice impressed senior members of staff by delivering a comprehensive presentation detailing the work she had put into a project designed to both attract revenue and support the local community. Freebridge Community Housing’s managers believe Alice to be a very strong young woman who will prove a great asset to the business.

Nic Preston, Chief Executive of SFEDI Awards, said, “Freebridge Community Housing has been extremely fortunate to have Alice Henderson as an Enterprise Apprentice. This is a young person who has shown herself to have an innate talent for enterprise, on both a strategic and a practical level. Alice is someone whose future will be studded with success.”

Chris Perry, Managing Director of Swarm, comments, “I am really proud of Alice as I have personally seen and been involved with growth through the training to become a very commercially savvy young business professional. Alice has and will continue to make a big impact at Freebridge and I look forward to watching her career blossom.” www.freebridge.org.uk www.ioee.uk / www.sfediawards.com

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Coffee morning success!

Swarm hosted a Macmillan Coffee Morning in October to help raise awareness and much-needed cash to support the hardworking nurses employed by Macmillan. All of the Swarm team have been affected by cancer in some form so the team whole-heatedly supported the notion to get behind the Coffee Morning. Thanks to those that took the time out of their morning to come along and to enjoy the delicious cakes that the Swarm team whipped up.

Congratulations!

Gemma Howell, apprentice at GML Consulting has been shortlisted for the ‘Apprentice Award’ at the 2015 DevelopHER Awards.

Good luck for the final ceremony!

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