Although Hollywood may have a bigger party to celebrate their superstars, we believe that our inspiring learners deserve to have their efforts recognised and rewarded too. Learner Awards are our way of saying well done, you’ve gone the extra mile, you are a star. There’s a token gift on the way to all award nominees and we encourage them to share the good news of their progress. We’re also hoping all our nominees will have a photo taken with their line manager, which we would love to share. After all, if it’s good enough for Hollywood…
Mentor Mhairi Richardson nominates Kym Miller from Macfarlane Packaging
Kym has been with Macfarlane Packaging for 16 years and is the Procurement Manager for her site but remains keen to grow her knowledge and keep up to date. Although many think apprenticeships are for school leavers, for someone like Kym who wanted to gain additional perspectives on procurement, they’re ideal. Returning to study can be challenging and Kym openly admits to having had concerns about her ability to manage the process. She felt her learning pace was slow and was extremely anxious about the first set of exams, thinking she hadn’t had enough time to prepare. Indeed, directly after the exams, Kym was sure she had failed but her doubts proved unfounded. She passed both her first two exams and is now a lot more confident about the next. Kym’s willingness to get out of her comfort zone has paid off and will continue to do so.
Mentor Simon Abram nominates Nicola Reade from VES Andover Ltd
I’ve been impressed by Nicola (Nicki) Reade’s approach to study and the way in which she’s fully embraced our OneFile learning system. As a mentor, I regularly review how each learner is progressing and a couple of sessions ago, I gave Nicki some pointers about updating her 20% Off the Job Training log. Nicki took the advice on board and has made sure that the current entries on her timesheet are very detailed, which is good practice, and that there is also a variety of evidence. This commitment will help ensure Nicki is on track with her learning and gaining the required breadth of experience.
Mentor Simon Abram nominates Laura George from Solent NHS Trust
Laura George (nee Eades) took a break in her training to get married, but on returning to her studies was unable to show evidence of her Maths and English achievement. Rather than allowing the break and the lack of evidence to put her off, or even cause a long-term interruption to her studies, Laura has been very proactive in remedying the situation and has now completed her Maths and English practice papers. Laura’s willingness to get stuck in, work hard and overcome obstacles is a great example of what can be achieved when you’re determined.
Mentor Alison Simpson nominates Sian Fox from Kent County Council
Sian Fox is something of a pioneer – one of the first learners within Kent CC going through the Procurement and Supply Apprenticeship scheme and one of the first to sit exams under the new syllabus. Sian is very diligent with her studies and keen to know all she can about a subject area. Being well prepared is important for Sian, and she has been spending plenty of evening and weekend time ensuring she is on track. Sian relishes her ability to learn and do well and has embraced the whole learning journey, but she is also increasingly active in the Kent CIPS branch and helped to arrange a session in Kent CC. Sian took control of the “meet and greet” and has volunteered as a student rep to help ensure student needs are considered at future events.
