Lorna Shines at Star Awards

We were delighted to attend the SQA Star Awards 2018 on Friday night in the beautiful Kelvingrove Art Gallery. The annual awards recognise the achievements of both the individuals who work towards SQA qualifications and organisations that deliver them; rewarding those who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to education and training. SQA Chief Executive Dr Janet Brown commented:

“The SQA Star Awards provide us with a fantastic opportunity to recognise young people for their achievements, but also acknowledge the outstanding work of our centres, the teachers, the lecturers, and the trainers who deliver our qualifications every day. The awards ceremony is our chance to thank those who give our learners the guidance, support, and encouragement they need to realise their potential.”

The highlight of our night was seeing our Director, STF and FSB board member, Lorna Trainer, receive the prestigious SQA Fellowship Award.  The award recognises Lorna’s continuous energy and enthusiasm to learning and training in Scotland over the course of her career. Prior to setting up l&g learning in 2006, Lorna worked as a Senior Social Worker and then as a Senior Lecturer and Head of School in Further Education. Over Lorna’s career she has acted as a consultant for NHS Education Scotland, SQA and the Scottish Social Services Council, developing several SQA qualifications, National Occupational Standard and contributing to policy initiatives.

SQA Chair David Middleton commented:

“Lorna has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to education, continuous professional development, and professional training throughout her career. The counsel, advice, and guidance she has offered not just to the Scottish Qualifications Authority, but to organisations across the country has been invaluable. She is a worthy recipient of SQA’s highest honour.”

We are hugely proud of Lorna and her achievements and are lucky to have her as our guiding star!

Read more at:

https://www.stf.org.uk/stf-members-shine-at-star-awards/

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Rhian's Road to Early Years Practitioner

Rhian started with l&g learning over two years ago on the Employability Fund looking to build on her qualifications, her confidence and gain valuable work experience within a nursery. It took her a while to build on these skills but in the end her hard work and dedication paid off. Rhian recently graduated from her Modern Apprenticeship and she is now a qualified Early Years Practitioner. Read on to hear about her experience of the Employability Fund...

Before I attended l&g learning I went to college, whilst still at school, doing beauty and nails. I also did volunteer work within a primary school. Once I left school I met with Skills Development Scotland and they thought I should try l&g learning. I wasn’t sure but after a long think I thought to try it out.

l&g learning helped me in every way possible. I started to really like it and that is when I knew that what I wanted to do was work with children. After I finished with l&g learning I began to babysit for a family member and applied for a Modern Apprenticeship.

A Modern Apprenticeship is where you attend a class once a month while working full-time within a private nursery, but also work towards a qualification. The qualification is SVQ Level 3 Social Services (Children and Young People) at SCQF Level 7. After all the had work is paid off you graduate which is a long, but lovely, day.

I graduated with SVQ Level 3 Social Services (Children and Young People). l&g learning helped me into my career as they guided me in the right path. l&g learning staff are amazing and have faith in all of their learners.

For all of the learners that are just starting the Employability fund with l&g stick with it; the staff are really helpful and have patience. It is a lot of fun working with children, you learn a lot about things you might not have known about the job. One thing I would say is that there is a lot of hard work to start off but does pay off in the end.

Thank you so much to l&g learning for helping me get to where I am today.

Rhian

If you are considering a career in Childcare get in touch to find out how the Employability Fund could help you. We have courses running throughout the year, contact us on 0141 221 6249 to find out more.

Apprenticeships are the Business

L&G Learning are a Modern Apprenticeship and Training Provider based in Glasgow specialising in the Social Services sector. As part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2018 we have invited our Digital Marketing apprentice and Receptionist, Jemma, to discuss what she thinks of the Apprenticeship.

I am now 5 months into my apprenticeship with l&g learning and have learned a lot about digital marketing I never knew before. Before starting this apprenticeship, I studied Graphic Design. After college I took on a job that wasn’t creative at all as an Administration Assistant in an office. I enjoyed the role but missed the creative side of design. When this opportunity came up I was attracted to it because Digital Marketing looked like a good balance between what I enjoy doing in the office and what I am interested in creatively. It also meant I could continue to learn whilst being employed, which is important when you have financial responsibilities to consider.

I had previous experience of managing a website from college, but it wasn’t until starting this Modern Apprenticeship that I learned how to analyse data from a website. I have learned how to use Google Analytics to see how many visitors we have to our website, what pages are the most popular, and other insights that allow us to improve our website and online presence.

As well as working with the website I am involved in creating and promoting marketing campaigns. L&g learning specialise in training for the Social Services sector and we have recently been focusing on recruiting people on to our Employability Fund courses, and Childcare Modern Apprenticeships. As part of the Digital Marketing apprenticeship I have learned how to use email marketing and social media campaigns to reach out to these people. The biggest difference from what I am learning now to what I learned in college is that what I am doing in the apprenticeship can be directly applied to my job role.

I am continually learning about digital marketing and feel that even after I finish the apprenticeship I will continue to learn more. I was surprised to find that I could even do an apprenticeship in Digital Marketing and have only now discovered the variety of Modern Apprenticeships that are available. I would recommend a Modern Apprenticeship to anyone considering it because whatever you’re interested in there’s probably an Apprenticeship out there for it!

Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2018 runs from 5- 9 March. You can find out more about Scottish Apprenticeships at www.apprenticeships.scot