Inspirational ACT Assessor Carly Murray, treasured ACT Tutor Kirsty Keane, and Carpentry Apprentice Stella Vasiliou scooped awards in their respective categories at the Apprenticeship Awards Cymru 2018, held in the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport on Friday.
Carly, Kirsty and Stella were amongst eleven award winners to be recognised as Wales’ top practitioners, learners and training providers.
Overwhelmed by her success, Carly commented: “I was honestly and absolutely totally speechless! I am still in total shock. All the finalists would’ve been well-deserved winners so I feel really lucky to have won. I am so pleased that Kirsty won as well, as I have assessed her and she is an amazing and hard-working tutor.”
With more than 14 years’ experience within the education and training industry, IQA assessor Carly constantly exceeds ACT’s ‘excellent’ assessor target, twice achieving a 100% success rate in the past five years. She has also helped to develop a new advice and guidance learning programme for schools with Careers Wales and ACT, which was launched in March.
We were also delighted when our Health and Social Care and Early Years Tutor Kirsty won the award in her category of Work-based Learning Practitioner of the Year (tutor).
Reacting to her award win, Kirsty said: “I was completely shocked. When they called my name it took me a few minutes to register. Winning the award means that the students can have faith in my teaching and know I want what is best for them. The award also represents my amazing team, as without them and their support/ideas, I could not carry out as good a job. And it shows that ACT recognise me which is so important, it makes me feel valued and trusted.”
Kirsty’s dedication to her learners is exemplified by her outstanding 100% progression rate, successfully supporting 91 learners to date through a Level 1 Traineeship in Care. Her passion for innovation has strengthened ACT’s best practice, organising speakers for her learners to discuss topics such as singing for dementia and arranging a Golden Oldies afternoon at ACT.
The announcement of Traineeship learner, Stella, winning her category of Traineeship Learners of the Year (Level 1), was the icing on the cake, with ACT securing a hat-trick of awards.
Stella commented: “I am still lost for words but I am grateful for winning the award. I am truly thankful for it too. Congratulations to everyone else that won and I wish them all the very best for the future.”
Carpentry Apprentice Stella decided college wasn’t for her so left to complete a Construction Traineeship at ACT. Here, she found her love for carpentry and made such a good impression on her placement at the Vale of Glamorgan Council that she was offered an Apprenticeship there, where she is currently thriving.
Another huge congratulations from ACT to Carly, Kirsty and Stella on their success. We are proud of all three of these women who have gone above and beyond in their work. They thoroughly deserve this national recognition.
We’d also like to give a special shout out to Michael Ramsden, a fellow finalist in the Work-based Learning Practitioner of the Year category who we are now proud to count as a member of ACT.
Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, Eluned Morgan congratulated the finalists and winners for setting the gold standard for Apprenticeships and Traineeships.
“The finalists include exceptional individuals who have excelled in their workplace and training providers and employers that have gone the extra mile to support the apprentices they are working with,” she said. “Each of them should be applauded for their commitment to the Apprenticeships and Traineeships Programmes in Wales.
“The Welsh Government regards Apprenticeships as a priority area and, with support from the European Social Fund, has committed to creating a minimum of 100,000 high-quality all-age Apprenticeships over this Assembly term.
“We have a clear vision for addressing the needs of Welsh businesses, developing skills pathways and increasing higher level skills that benefit the whole of Wales. If the Welsh economy is to continue to grow, then we must work together to equip Wales with a world-class workforce.”
Read more about Carly’s story, Kirsty’s story, and Stella’s story.
Winner’s stories:
