Welcome to the Damar Training Blog

Damar’s 2010 celebration event for successful learners and employers took place at Edgeley Park in Stockport on Thursday 28^th October. This year was particularly special because it is just over 30 years since Damar was established by Dale Stafford. Attended by over 170 employers and learners, the event was an opportunity to thank employers and also to recognise and celebrate the achievements of all of our apprentices and NVQ students over the last year.
As well as presenting all of the learners who attended with a certificate, the following special awards were presented to individuals and organisations who have made a particularly strong contribution to learning and development over the past year…
Workplace Supervisor of the year
Winner: Helen Critchley, Bunzl Healthcare (www.bunzlhealthcare.co.uk)
Runner up: Peter Bentley, Intuitive Recovery (www.intuitiverecovery.com)
Apprentice Employer of the Year
Winner: Sim Trava Limited (Costa Coffee)
Mark Aspinall Award
Winner: Lucy Sinclair, CSC Construction
Runner up: Robert Hardial, Horwich Farrelly (www.horwichfarrelly.co.uk)
Learner of the Year 2010
Winner: Sharon Taylor, Equality and Human Rights Commission (www.equalityhumanrights.com)
Runner up: Owen Myott, Booth Ainsworth (www.boothainsworth.co.uk)
Photographs of the event will be available to view and to purchase from 5^th November 2010 at www.bernadettedelaney.com (please call Damar on 0161 480 8171 for the password).

It was a pleasure to visit the Bredbury offices of Anixter Fasteners earlier this week to present Sam Ryan with Damar’s Learner of the Month award for October 2010. Anixter (www.anixter.co.uk) has supported apprentices for many years and Sam’s Damar assessor, Nicola Clayton, is herself a former Anixter employee. Sam did particularly well on the numeracy element of her qualification and the award is well deserved. Thanks too to Christine Nicholls, who manages the apprenticeship programme.

The Equality Act 2010 came into force on 1st October 2010. There is a excellent guide to the new legislation on the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s website here:

Understanding the Equality Act 2010 with our online starter kit 

On 28th September we were delighted to visit Sharon Taylor at the Equality and Human Rights Commission in Manchester and present her with Damar’s “Learner of the Month” award for September. Sharon recently completed a level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship qualification in Business and Administration. Her assessor Alison Minay put her forward for the award because her work throughout the course was of an exceptionally high standard.

Our thanks go to Sharon, her manager Jane Mansley and also to Anthony Maxted of EHRC who worked with Damar and Graham McKendrick of the National Apprenticeship Service to set up the programme last year.

Have you thought about moving on to a higher education course after your advanced apprenticeship? Increasingly, Damar is helping advanced apprentices who want to gain further qualifications, including university degrees. Working with the University of Bolton and AimHigher Greater Manchester we can help you to access the “Step In to HE” course. Step In is a part-time evening course over 7 weeks which will:

·               Give you confidence in your ability to go on to HE.
·               Help you develop the study skills that you will need.
·               Cover research skills and how to plan your personal development.
Higher Education does not have to be full time – as a part time student you can earn and learn at the same time!
This is what one of our learners said recently:
“I applied and was offered a place at MMU’s business school to do a degree in business management course. this was due to the encouragement I had received from Damar Training, my employers, and the tutor at Stockport College - where I completed the Step In course.”
The next course starts on Tuesday 2^nd November and lasts for seven weeks. The lessons are for three hours, 6pm til 9pm. You will be taught by Keith Monks, a HE tutor, at Stockport College’s Town Centre Campus on the A6 in Stockport.
If you are interested or have any queries, please contact Louise Livesey at Stockport College on 0161 958 3340 or louise.livesey@stockport.ac.uk.
Please don’t delay - applications need to be received by the beginning of October.

Earlier this month, Damar brought together a small group of employers with representatives from the National Apprenticeship Service for a round table discussion about what apprenticeships can do for business. A short version of the discussion has now been published in GM Commerce magazine and can be read at http://www.commercegm.co.uk (the article is on page 23). A PDF copy (apologies for the copy quality) is attached here: GM Commerce Aug 2010.

If you would be interested in attending similar events in the future, please email jonathan@damartraining.com.

We are delighted to announce that Damar is now a Training Quality Standard Certificated Provider. The process of achieving certification was rigorous and involved third party researchers speaking to most of the employers that we work with to get their experience of our service.

TQS recognises and celebrates the best organisations delivering high quality, high impact training to employers. The Standard reflects employers’ priorities and expectations in sourcing training, and assesses whether providers can meet those priorities and expectations when they deliver to employers.

For more information about TQS, please follow this link: http://www.trainingqualitystandard.co.uk/Imanemployer3