Thank you to all who attended our Annual Staff Conference!

B-Skill’s annual staff conference is the opportunity for all colleagues and partners to share stories, expertise and finally come together under one roof (which doesn’t happen very often in this fast-paced, wide-spead industry!). This year’s conference included guest speaker, William Chadwick, who shared his 20 plus years of experience in Equality, Diversity and related fields through interesting and engaging topics. The whole day was packed with presentations, awards, team-building and workshops. It’s fair to say it was a rewarding day for all and B-Skill would like to thank everyone for attending.

After a welcome from B-Skill Director, Paul Wileman, William Chadwick shared his knowledge of British Values, Cultural Communication and the implications of Brexit on Prevent. Later in the day, he moved on to focus on Data Protection and GDPR. As expected, Chadwick’s lively and engaging style brings potentially dry and dusty subjects to life and we are confident everybody in the room learnt a lot from his talks.

Our industry has gone through many drastic changes over the last 12 months to improve the quality and quantity of Apprenticeships in England, particularly the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy that came into effect April this year. The conference provided the opportunity for managers to share their knowledge and advice with the wider team to make sure everyone understands the role we play in making sure these changes have a positive effect on the business.

Paul Wileman kick-started the talks by highlighting the changes and challenges the industry faces. Jo Reid, B-Skill National Key Accounts & Partnerships Manager, followed by providing employer engagement insight with a focus on the Levy. Jo began,

“At B-Skill, we are passionate about working in true partnership with our employer partners. We seek out employers that want to work with us, collaborate with us and who are passionate about the things that we are passionate about; learning, growth, development, accomplishment, aspirations, fulfilment.”

Jo continued to provide insight on maximising ROI from the Apprenticeship Levy investment and B-Skill’s Global Excellence Standards, supporting the highest standards of service for both our employer partners and the B-Skill community.

Other insights of the day included ‘An Operational Viewpoint’ delivered by Operations Manager, Rachael Flaxmer, a Quality Workshop focusing on personal development, behaviour & welfare from Quality Assurance Manager, Alison Hodgson, and an insight into ‘Blended Learning’ from James Murray, Learner Loans Manager. The day was filled with useful information that everyone can take away with them and feel more confident in all areas of the business.

B-Skill are passionate about rewarding members of staff when credit is due so our annual conference gives us the opportunity to present our ‘Employee of the Year’ awards. Nicole Fenwick won this year’s award for Support staff, alongside Lynsey Spraggon who won for Delivery. We are always impressed by our staff’s hard-work and commitment and would like to thank everyone for their continuous efforts to achieve success.

Not only does our conference provide the opportunity to openly recognise high performers in our staff network, it also gives us the chance to acknowledge successful relationships with our partners. This year, Sensible Training was awarded ‘Partner of the Year’ for their 100% success rate in Sales apprenticeships. Well done to Martin Thornton and the rest of the Sensible team.

Catching up with Director, Paul Wileman, after the conference, he said:

“I’ve had a fantastic day, I thoroughly enjoy seeing everyone come together and reflect on the year and acknowledge how to keep improving going forward. Santa Claus came early for our two ‘Employees of the Year’ who both received £100 shopping vouchers for outstanding service to clients. B-Skill prioritises excellence in customer service and is very proud of both. Also leaving the conference with a smile was ‘Partner of the Year’ winner Martin Thornton of Sensible Training. This is the third year that B-Skill and Sensible Training have worked together in partnership. When congratulated on the 100% success figure, Martin responded, “who wouldn’t target themselves for 100% achievements?” because to him, it was the only ‘Sensible’ approach to take. B-Skill totally agree with your mentality, Martin.

“Overall, the day was packed with insightful and engaging content. I would like to thank William Chadwick for attending as our guest speaker, his expertise will be highly valued throughout the company, and to all the B-Skill managers who shared their knowledge during the day. I look forward to welcoming everyone back next year and wish all members of staff, partners and friends a fantastic festive period.”