Staffordshire-based Acacia Training has been named apprentice provider of the year at the national AAC Apprenticeship Awards. The awards celebrate quality, innovation and best practice amongst apprentice employers, colleges and training providers across the UK.
Judged by apprenticeship sector leaders and government figures, the awards are considered the most prestigious for those working across all apprenticeship pathways.
During the awards application process, entrants were required to evidence how they tailored their apprenticeship training programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some apprentices becoming vital key workers, whilst others worked for companies who closed workplaces to comply with stay-at-home orders. This left many apprentices in danger of being unable to complete their apprenticeship due to a lack of the usual workplace supervision and experience when furloughed, or due to the day-to-day work demands placed on those who were key workers.
Commenting on the prestigious award win, Victoria Sylvester, Founder and CEO at Acacia Training said:
“This award really means a lot to us all. There are more than 400 colleges and training providers delivering apprenticeships across the country. We are immensely proud of all our peers in the sector, so to be recognised with this award really feels like recognition that we are the best of the best.
“For our learners, our employers and our assessors in health and social care, it is recognition of how hard they have all worked as key workers during the COVID-19 crisis, and how quickly our assessor team adapted to support our employers and learners to complete their apprenticeships in a timely manner, despite the huge challenges they faced.
“In other areas that we operate, such as beauty and dental nursing, they needed a lot of support to keep motivated and progress through their programme. We made this possible by changing the timings of various models, switching to an online teaching and assessment model, and ensuring our learners and employers received what they needed, whatever their circumstances.”
Founded 21 years ago, Acacia Training now boasts a team of over 120 staff and has worked with 7,000 employers and trained more than 35,000 learners in that time. During the first wave of the Covid pandemic, they quickly adapted apprenticeship delivery and assessment to meet the needs of the care sector which was under unprecedented pressure; delivered £100k of intensive training to increase staffing capacity; and provided free live online mental health and infection control training which was accessed by over 2,000 people worldwide.
Victoria concludes:
“As the award organisers recognised, the past year has been nothing short of extraordinary and there has been enormous pressure to adapt quickly to maintain the delivery of training across many sectors, not just within care. For us, this was never in doubt. From day one our focus has been on the delivery of quality training and whilst it is always preferable to do this in person, we were determined that our service shouldn’t suffer. Receiving this award – arguably THE biggest award we could win – confirms that our commitment to employers and learners alike hasn’t faltered in spite of the challenges thrown at us all.”
The AAC Apprenticeship Awards were organised by FE Week and The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP). The AELP represents the interests of over 900 organisations delivering vocational learning and employability support.
