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Focus on apprenticeships - Horwich Farrelly
For more information on the new legal administration apprenticeship or how apprenticeships can add value for law firms more widely, please call Damar on 0161 480 8171 and ask to speak to a member of our recruitment team.
We were honoured to be invited to the inaugural Research and Education Awards held at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust on Wednesday 25th April. The Awards were hosted by The Christie’s Chairman, Lord Keith Bradley and were supported by the senior management team including Chief Executive Caroline Shaw and Dr Richard Cowan, Director of Education.
The Trust, which uses the motto “We Care, We Discover, We Teach” to summarise its core values and strategy, is firmly committed to teaching and developing staff and students at all levels. Damar has partnered with The Christie on apprenticeships for almost five years, during which time around 80 members of staff have successfully completed apprenticeship and NVQ qualifications.
We were delighted that one recent achiever, Janette Rea, who recently completed an NVQ in business and administration, was commended in the “student of the year” category. Our thanks go to Janette for all her hard work and also to Michelle Norton, Vocational Training and Development Co-Ordinator and Karen Hellewell, Head of Education who have both provided such strong support for the programme.
Pictured below (left to right) are Robin Lindsay (Damar) Michelle Norton, Janette Rea and Maria Grimsley (Damar).
Damar’s work on legal apprenticeships is featured in today’s Sun (page 53). We work in partnership with ILEX Tutorial College (the training arm of CILEx) and are able to offer law firms and young people access to the only Government approved legal apprenticeship designed specifically for entry-level paralegal and administrative staff.
For more information, please contact Jonathan Bourne at Damar on 0161 480 8171 or email jonathan@damartraining.com.
We were delighted to present Mario Bryan with this month’s learner of the month award. Mario (pictured left below) works in the finance department at Manchester Metropolitain University Students’ Union. He has made excellent progress in his advanced apprenticeship in accounts over recent months and has shown a real commitment both to his studies and his job at MMU. Mattew Gush, Finance Manager, and Matthew Robinson, Chief Executive, also attended the presentation and commented on how pleased they were with Mario’s progress. Our thanks go to the team at the MMU, to Mario and to his assessor, Steve Ainsworth (pictured right below).
We were delighed to present Diane Wolstenholme and Emma Stanway, both of whom work at Stockport Medical Group, with a joint “learner of the month award” earlier this month. Diane and Emma have both successfully completed level 3 NVQs in business and administration, in each case to an exceptionally high standard. Their assessor, Alison Minay, commented that “they both demonstrated an excellent understanding of their jobs.” She added: ”It was a pleasure working with them and their supervisor, Jane Whitworth, who was supportive throughout.”
Pictured below (left to right) are Jane Whitworth (Practice Manager), Diane Wolstenholme, Emma Stanway and Alison Minay.
You may have read about the Government’s recent announcement of a new £1,500 grant for employers looking to recruit apprentices for the first time. This is a great opportunity for organisations with fewer than 250 staff - for more details please download the Employer Fact Sheet or call a member of Damar’s recruitment team on 0161 480 8171.
This month we are contratulating Matthew Rigby, who recently completed his advanced apprenticeship in business and administration with one of Manchester’s leading barristers’ chambers, Nine St John Street. Matthew lives in Wigan and found the apprenticeship opportunity through Damar.
Since joining Chambers, Matthew has taken on an increasing amount of responsibility and his role includes supporting the barristers in Chambers as well as liasing with firms of solicitors and court centres in Manchester and further afield. Matthew has his own profile on Chambers’ website here.
Our thanks go too to Senior Cilvil Clerk, Tony Morrisey and the team at Nine St John Street who have supported Matthew through his advanced apprenticeship.
Damar works with several barristers’ chambers in Manchester, as well as over 30 firms of solicitors, supporting them with the recruitment and training of apprentices in a wide range of roles, from administration to junior clerking to paralegal.
If you are interested in employing apprentices or in becoming an apprentice, please call Damar on 0161 480 8171 and ask for a memer of our recruitment team.
Christmas came early for Damar assessor Chris Barnard and MD Jonathan Bourne at a celebration event for 13 members of staff who have successfully completed apprenticeships in customer service with Bolton Primary Care Trust.
The event took place on 1st December, the same day as the team’s early Christmas party.
Pictured in front of the tree below are the successful apprentices with Chris Barnard.
Some members of staff had initially been a bit nervous about returning to learning after a break but all were delighted to have successfully achieved their qualifications and to have their competence recognised in this way. Staff commented that the programme had helped their confidence at work and that it had improved their understanding of their department’s work.
Jonathan Bourne commented: “we are delighted to see another group of NHS staff successfully completing their apprenticeships. The work that all the learners put in was tremendous and it is great to see how apprenticeships have been of benefit both to individual learners and the team as a whole.”
Our congratulations go to Arshad Kapadia, 23, who has been offered a paralegal apprenticeship with a firm of solicitors in North Manchester. Arshad, who lives in Old Trafford, applied to Damar via the Apprenticeship vacancies website.
When he came in for interview, Arshad spotted that our Get Ready for Work course was the perfect way to improve his chance of getting an apprenticeship. As well as improving his job seeking skills, attending the course enabled Arshad to meet members of Damar’s recuitment team who spotted that his enthusiasm and personality were a perfect fit with the environment at a busy firm of solicitors. Arshad went for interview, was offered the role and starts his new job next week!
Before coming to Damar, Arshad had worked at Trafford Council in a role funded by the Future Jobs Fund. Local government cuts meant that, unfortunately, that role came to an end. We are delighted that we have been able to support Arshad into a full-time, paid job with apprenticeship training and look forward to seeing him progress.
Arshad commented: “Coming on the course massively increased my chances of getting an apprenticeship - I was better prepared for interview and it meant that I found out about vacancies straight away. I am really looking forward to starting my job and hope to qualify as a paralegal in due course. I would recommend the Get Ready for Work course to anyone in Greater Manchester who is aged between 18-24, is currently looking for work and is interested in finding an apprenticeship in an office-based or customer service role.”
Arshad is pictured below in front of the “I love apprenticeships” board at Damar.
We are delighted to announce that apprentices with Damar Training can now apply for an NUS Extra Card. The card, which costs £11 and lasts for 12 months, entitles apprentices to a massive range of discounts at retailers including Amazon, McDonald’s, Odeon, Superdrug, Orange, O2 and many more.
To apply for a card now, please go to www.apprenticeextra.co.uk.
For the latest discounts, new and exclusive offers please visit www.nus.org.uk/en/NUS-Extra.
An overview of some of the current discounts (nb these may change) can be downloaded here: NUS Extra Card - overview