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Rugby pundit Jonathan Davies OBE who started his working life as an Apprentice, is celebrating National Apprenticeship Week with ACT, Wales leading training provider.
It is not very well known that Jonathan Davies left school with just two O Levels and started his working life as a painter and decorator Apprentice. He now, in his role as ACT’s Skills Ambassador, helps others to bridge the gap into training and employment.
Jonathan welcomed a range of Welsh employers at ACT’s breakfast event at a local coffee shop, Little Man Coffee, in Cardiff.
Jonathan said: “I had a fantastic morning meeting employers, finding out about their business and explain how they could benefit from ACT and their Apprenticeship programmes. ACT offers a range of fully-funded training services and I urge any welsh employer to take advantage of their offering.”
He continued: “It was also a pleasure meeting some of the young Apprentices, including Danielle Boucher, Ashley Coleman and Rebecca Collins, who are using Apprenticeships as a fast-track to a successful career. They are the workforce of the future and it was great to hear how well they are doing and I wish them all the best with their training.”
Danielle Boucher, who has recently completed a Level 2 Business Administration Apprenticeship at law firm Darwin Gray said: “I left school at 17 and wasn’t really sure what career path to go down as university never appealed to me. Â I came across ACT Training through Careers Wales. They established that I was good at customer services and dealing with people and helped me get the Apprenticeship at Darwin Gray. I am now working in Human Resources for the firm.
“I loved meeting lots of different employers today and explaining how I got to where I am. Hopefully I have inspired them to give young people a chance by offering Apprenticeships. I cannot stress enough the benefits, not only for young people just like me, but also how beneficial they are to businesses.”
National Apprenticeship Week is designed to celebrate Apprenticeships and the positive influence they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.
ACT’s Development Director, Caroline Cooksley said: “I was delighted that we had the opportunity to highlight the talent and skills of Apprentices to employers who are currently not engaged with our Apprenticeship programmes. It was also a great opportunity to connect with businesses to explain the advantages of employing and supporting apprentices in their workplace.”
