Capella Apprentice of the Month Award

Capella have recently introduced an ‘Apprentice of the Month Award’ where we ask our Capella Trainers to nominate a learner who they feel has gone ‘above and beyond’.  This could be a learner who has overcome challenges,  worked particularly hard, or someone who has made a real difference to the cohort, or their own business whilst on the programme.

Apprentice of the Month Award Winners for Quarter 2 – 2021

April 2021 – Stuart Ballingall at Direct Wines on the L4 Improvement Practitioner apprenticeship.

“Stuart works in the DC of Direct Wines Gloucester as an Inbound team leader. During the last 8 months Stuart has been the DC lead on Brexit and at the very forefront of operations during COVID-19, a period which has seen record volumes for the group” – Andy Hawker (Head of Logistics at Direct Wines)

Stuart has displayed tenacity, commitment, and a huge amount of passion to improve the processes within the DC however from my perspective it is the change in confidence that has impressed me most.

“Stuart is always engaging, attentive, and ready to ask questions to broaden his knowledge. He plays a key role in setting the tone concerning the energy and enthusiasm of the group. For the reasons above I wholeheartedly believe Stuart to be a worthy recipient” – Mat Elwood (Capella Trainer)

On behalf of the Capella Team, we would just like to say well done Stuart!

 

May 2021 – Kay Lee at NHS Arden & GEM on the L5 Improvement Specialist apprenticeship.

“Kay works in an environment where she has taken huge steps in driving and leading change within her area. Kay came onto the program openly accepting where they may struggle with statistics, tools etc. However, in every session Kay has been a key person to discuss with, is always asking important questions and never shies away from giving things a go.

Kay has also been training other members in her team to further embed and improve change in a high-pressure environment. Kay’s confidence in applying the tools and techniques at L5 has been fantastic and is already collaborating with other L5 delegates to help them with some of their work and to further improve her own.

Lastly Kay has hit every problem straight on to tackle it and always been a fun and enthusiastic member in the classroom” – Niall Coney (Capella Trainer)

On behalf of the Capella Team, we would just like to say well done Kay!

 

June 2021 – Rebecca Ramsey at GSK on the L4 Improvement Practitioner apprenticeship.

“Rebecca completed her final coaching session in June and despite having lots of challenges has completed a distinction standard project report.

The reason why I believe this warrants an award nomination is Rebecca has come from a very data light and more service-based environment, where at the start of the program, there were reservations and difficulties in translating the requirements back into the work environment. On top of this there have also been organisational changes and heavy workloads. Despite all of this, Rebecca has persevered through every obstacle, listened, and improved from every bit of advice given, and produced a benchmark standard of work in a great timeframe, with fantastic results.

Rebecca has never shied away from “having a go” at tools and techniques, has been an enthusiastic contributor to all sessions and never hesitated to ask questions if stuck” – Niall Coney (Capella Trainer)

On behalf of the Capella Team, we would just like to say well done Rebecca!

 

National Apprenticeship Awards 

Capella’s Apprentice of the Month winners have also been encouraged to enter the National Apprenticeship Awards 2021. The National Apprenticeship Awards 2021 will be open for entries from the 5thJuly – 28th July 2021.

 

The National Apprenticeship Awards are a fantastic opportunity to showcase the apprentices, employers and champions who have gone above and beyond in spite of the challenges faced in the last year.

It is FREE to enter the Awards and all applications must be made via the National Apprenticeship application website.

We’ve selected a small number of our delegates who we believe have an outstanding story to tell and would like to recommend that you submit an entry for the Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year Award.

If you would like to enter the Awards, please let us know and we will be more than happy to support you with your application.

 

 

 

Testimonials

  • Capella have provided a superbly structured programme, and have proven to be entirely supportive of delegates in completing their apprenticeship with confidence. Key to this has been the instructor’s knowledge of the subject matter, allowing him to apply the theory to a variety of scenarios in the delegates’ work. We have appreciated the instructor being approachable, flexible and understanding of the challenges of extra-curricula activity for people with busy jobs. All staff that we’ve engaged with at Capella have been professional, welcoming and clear in their communication.

    Mark Robbins, Retail and Pension Operations Training and Communications, Fidelity International

  • Capella’s focus on developing long-term relationships and their continual search for innovative approaches to upskilling has enabled Toyota and many other employers to learn and apply best practice Problem Solving tools which deliver great outcomes for all. In our experience, no other training provider has taken such a lead role in the development of sector wide initiatives such as the Automotive Industrial Partnership and development of the ‘improvement suite’ of Apprenticeship standards. Capella constantly seeks innovative opportunities to deliver an excellent service to the learner and to the business.

    Paul Fitzpatrick | Senior Manager | Toyota UK

  • We have found Capella really professional and flexible and their passion for delivering high quality training is a culture we have in common between us and has made working with them highly beneficial. Their knowledge of the automotive sector in particular has also been very useful and has simplified working together to create a really excellent training programme. In addition, they have managed to modify their usual commercial programmes in line with government approved apprenticeship standards, which has enabled us to utilise our Apprenticeship Levy to fund the training.

    Chris Bauman | Group Managing Director

  • Capella are delivering the Business Improvement L4 programme to a cohort of 12 staff at our Barnard Castle site. We chose Capella after a series of meeting with Kate and her team and from day 1 we have been impressed with the professionalism, enthusiasm and knowledge of the team. The staff have really thrived on the learning schedule and through working with the programme tutors and we have had nothing but positive feedback. Internal changes on site have impacted on the programme delivery, which Capella took this in their stride, adapting delivery timelines, providing support and working with those facing change has added another dimension to the relationship that has been developed between the site and Capella. While still in delivery mode GSK already believes that the programme has been a success for all involved and we look forward to its completion and sharing that success within the organisation.

    Tim Buchanan | Apprenticeship Vendor Manager | Talent, Leadership and Organisation Development- Centre of Excellence

  • Capella worked closely with Wilko to deeply understand our needs at a strategic and operational level, helping us to jointly explore a range of options to meet these needs. Capella have an experienced team of Lean Six Sigma experts. Their programme design, management expertise and resources are second to none. Wilko have been allocated a dedicated Account Manager which helps us ensure the learner is always front of mind. Capella’s programmes have developed the knowledge, skills and drive of our Wilko delegates to seek and implement improvements in every process, constantly reducing costs, waste and inefficiencies. Capella also enabled Wilko’s leadership of continuous improvement to be showcased through the publication of an extensive article for the Chartered Quality Institute's Quality World magazine.

    Teresa Ward, Wilko Talent Programme Manager, Wilko

  • I would sincerely like to thank you again and the fabulous team at Capella for the dedication shown in achieving the Black Belt qualification. It is such a pleasure to work so closely with passionate professional people and I hope our partnership continues to grow especially with the role out of the new standards.

    Richard Bates, Managing Director, Qualitrain

  • "Capella are a company that keep to their word, they have supported me fully during and even after my projects have been completed. The coaching team are always on hand to help with any issues and often put themselves out to ensure support is available. Highly recommend anyone looking to progress their career to take a look at Capella."

    Chris Woodcock, Jaguar Land Rover