Tuesday, 27 November 2018 saw over 180 apprentices and staff from the Vocational Skills Partnership (VSP) attend the annual Awards and Conference hosted by VSP. The Awards and Conference celebrate and highlight the achievements of our students and staff in developing careers through work-based learning.

Speaking at the event, Educ8 Group’s CEO Grant Santos said:

VSP has grown into the second largest provider of Apprenticeships in Wales and continues to operate as a unique consortium of four equal independent training providers. During 2017-18 learners successfully achieved their Apprenticeship Programmes and our provision in Higher Apprenticeship continues to grow with over 30% of learners following Higher Apprenticeship across a number of key sectors linked to the Welsh Government and Regional Skills Partnership priorities.

The VSP awards are an opportunity for us to celebrate success and recognise all the hard work of our learners, employers, practitioners and support staff. We wish to congratulate all finalists today and wish them continued success on their learning journey.

The Awards were presented by Andrew Clark, Deputy Director Welsh Assembly, FE & Apprenticeships Division who spoke of his passion for apprenticeships and the value that they bring to the workforce and economy in Wales.

THE 2018 WINNERS WERE:

Foundation Apprentice of the Year, 16-24            Zara King

Foundation Apprentice of the Year, 25+               Gillian Davies

Apprentice of the Year, 16-24                                 Courtney Pippin

Apprentice of the Year, 25+                                    Dean Haines

Higher Apprentice of the Year                                Carol Madgwick

Jobs Growth Wales Outstanding Achiever          Adam Smith

Bilingual Learner of the Year                                  Rosemary Anne Berry

Employer of the Year                                               Little Inspirations

Practitioner of the Year                                           Sally Farrow, Aspiration Training Ltd

Support Staff of the Year                                        Sharon Davies

Following the awards the delegates heard from two phenomenal speakers, Julian John from Delsion and Mark ‘Dot’ Perkins, both having succeeded in their careers following life-changing and disabling events. Both speakers touched the audience with their stories and words of encouragement – with a key message being to never underestimate what inspiration can do and how far people will push themselves to achieve.

VSP is a unique training consortium that delivers high-quality work-based learning qualifications and Jobs Growth Wales opportunities throughout Wales, in a variety of sectors. All the way from level 2, which is equivalent to 5 GCSE’s, to level 5 which is equivalent to a foundation degree.

The VSP partnership is made up of four Training Providers, Aspiration Training, Educ8, Network and TSW. Over the last year, VSP has supported over 2100 learners in Wales to achieve their apprenticeship, with over 650 being at the higher level. These higher apprenticeships are in a range of sectors which include Childcare, Engineering, Health & Social Care and Management.