Internationally renowned businesses such as Arriva, Interserve and Hanson have already reduced their environmental impact and improved their bottom line with Sustainability Skills for the Workforce, book now to rapidly upskill your workforce and increase performance, efficiency, and impact.

Environmental Sustainability Skills for the Manager is a transitional course that builds on this knowledge and really drills down into the detail, giving managers and supervisors the tools to implement their broadened knowledge and skills. This is ideal for team leaders and managers who want to oversee organisational improvements.��

Internationally renowned businesses such as Arriva, Interserve and Hanson have already reduced their environmental impact and improved their bottom line with Sustainability Skills for the Workforce, book now to rapidly upskill your workforce and increase performance, efficiency, and impact.

Environmental Sustainability Skills for the Workforce is an introductory course which helps your team get to grips with the basics, giving a fundamental awareness of environment and sustainability issues. This is ideal for members of the team who work at an operational level. See improvements in your performance after just one day.��

Internationally renowned businesses such as Arriva, Interserve and Hanson have already reduced their environmental impact and improved their bottom line with Sustainability Skills for the Workforce, book now to rapidly upskill your workforce and increase performance, efficiency, and impact. Environmental Sustainability Skills for the Manager is a transitional course that builds on this knowledge and really drills down into the detail, giving managers and supervisors the tools to implement their broadened knowledge and skills. This is ideal for team leaders and managers who want to oversee organisational improvements.��

Internationally renowned businesses such as Arriva, Interserve and Hanson have already reduced their environmental impact and improved their bottom line with Sustainability Skills for the Workforce, book now to rapidly upskill your workforce and increase performance, efficiency, and impact. Environmental Sustainability Skills for the Workforce is an introductory course which helps your team get to grips with the basics, giving a fundamental awareness of environment and sustainability issues. This is ideal for members of the team who work at an operational level. See improvements in your performance after just one day.��

This course will give you a foundation of environmental and sustainability knowledge to build on. Covering a wide range of environmental, sustainability and governance principles, this course will give learners an understanding of the breadth of the sustainability agenda, and the management tools and skills that they will need when working within this area.��

Apprenticeships offer an affordable way to train new team members and upskill existing staff. Utilising apprenticeships as part of your talent strategy can help with succession planning, filling skills gaps and expanding your business. Boost your team’s skills, knowledge, performance and job satisfaction, so that your key people stay with you for longer.��

Flexible blended learning

We work in partnership with ​, an edtech company that specialises in creating blended learning courses and apprenticeships for professional qualifications. Through the effective use of technology, Mindful Education delivers flexible, on-demand learning that is intuitive and engaging, enabling apprentices to fit their study around their work.����

Online and On Campus����

Apprentices study online lessons during allotted time at work, and also attend regular sessions with a college tutor, either in-person or virtually.This flexible approach to apprenticeship training empowers learners, minimises disruption to employers, and improves learner retention and achievement.����

Online studies can be accessed on demand, from any device, so apprentices can log on to study during quiet periods at work. Lessons are video-based, easy to navigate and focused on helping learners to achieve their qualifications. Meanwhile, unique background analytics enable employers to track learner activity and progress.����

On campus, apprentices benefit from regular classes with an experienced college tutor, either in-person or virtually. And because the key points are learnt online, apprentices attend classroom sessions about half as often as with a more traditional apprenticeship.����

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At ������Ƶ we know that undertaking a new course of education, at any level, can be a daunting task, but we offer support to ensure you feel confident and comfortable as you get started.��

Childcare learner, Jasmine Warner, came to our Aberdare Skills centre earlier this year through our Get Ready programme (an initiative designed to ease new learners into a course before they commit to Jobs Growth Wales +).��

Initially, Jasmine was very anxious, having not had a great experience at school and having left education with no formal qualifications. Jasmine thought that ������Ƶ may have more patience and a smaller, quieter class to settle her in. She signed up in the hope of gaining some qualifications and work experience. Jasmine’s dream job was to work with children, but she was unsure if this would ever become a reality.��

Jasmine struggled with her confidence for the first few weeks, something that was quickly picked up by her tutors who then ensured regular check-ins to monitor her progress and assist her in building her confidence and relationships with her peers.����

With time and support Jasmine came into her own and quickly progressed in the programme, moving into a main classroom with a skills tutor by the end of her stint with Get Ready.��

Jasmine pushed herself, progressing a few weeks later to the Advancement strand of her programme and securing a work placement in her dream role within a primary school.����

Talking of Jasmine’s success, Becky Jones, ������Ƶ’s Jobs Growth Wales + Learning Coach, said: “Jasmine has done so well and it is a pleasure to her have in class and in centre. Feedback from placement has also been very positive.”��

Jasmine said: “When I first started at ������Ƶ I was not very confident in myself. However, with the help of the staff, my confidence increased. I feel that I’m a happier person now compared to when I started. This is because of the help that I received from the staff at ������Ƶ and the fact that they believed in me and didn’t let me give up.”��

For Jobs Growth Wales + learner Millie it was a case of watching brick-laying videos online and thinking ‘let’s give that a try’.��

Millie came to ������Ƶ after a challenging time at school, where she undertook her Multi Skilled Construction qualification. But it wasn’t plain sailing from the start.��

“In the beginning I sat around doing very little because I was nervous,” she explains. “Then my tutor sat me down in his office and said ‘do you actually want to do this because if you do you have to put the work in. It was the kick I needed to get on with it. Since then, I have been brick-laying every day and learning the craft.”��

While brick-laying was the main topic of interest for Millie while working towards her qualification at ������Ƶ, she has since joined contractors Direct Maintenance on placement, and has had to get to grips with a number of new skills.��

“With them I do rendering, plastering, cutting plasterboard and wood,” she said. “I like doing bathroom and kitchen jobs because it’s amazing to see the difference from the before to the after.”��

Despite being the only female in the team, Millie was quick to find her feet within the team, with them ensuring that accommodations such as suitable bathroom facilities were put in place.��

“I love my colleagues,” Millie said. “They’re funny and they’ve commented that I’m reliable. I show up every day and I am in the spot where I have to meet them on time. I will also try anything, I enjoy the work. They’ve been very accommodating.”��

Millie’s tutor, Ian Rees, has seen her development throughout the JGW+ journey. He said: “Since joining us at ������Ƶ, Millie has excelled in both her construction skills and personal confidence. Millie’s brickwork skills are of a very high standard and along the way, with each assessment passed and each goal reached, her confidence has grown and grown.����

“As part of her course she has completed her CSCS training and test where she had to answer 45 out of 50 questions correctly about health & safety within construction. This was a massive confidence boost for Millie and on a personal note, as her tutor, I was extremely proud of her especially knowing how hard she had studied for it.”��

So far, Millie has completed her Level 1 award and certificate as part of her Multi Skilled Construction course. She is now working on her essential skills where she has completed her Application of Numbers, and is currently finishing her City & Guilds Level 2 Essential Communication Skills. She is hoping to continue her learning within her placement company.��

Asked if she had any words of advice for someone, particularly other women, looking to pursue a career in construction, Millie said: “Just do it and don’t let the boys put you down, some of them tried to with me and I was better than them. Just keep going and just ignore them. If you want it you just need to put the work in.”��

The title recognises the organisation’s commitment to nurture a fair, respectful, equal, diverse, inclusive and engaging (or FREDIE) culture within its operations and comes after a thorough re-assessment period from the awarding body.��

The Leaders in Diversity title is given to very few organisations within the UK and recognises that a business, along with its employees and partners, have a solid understanding of what it is to adopt a FREDIE ethos in the workplace. It also shows that steps have been made to ensure every aspect of the company displays fairness and equality.��

Some of the changes that have been implemented within ������Ƶ on its journey to become Leaders in Diversity include creating EDI steering and advisory groups, introducing inclusive meeting guidance, providing training to staff and managers, producing accessibility statements for all sites and establishing regular FREDIE internal communications including the celebration of different cultural and social events and awareness days.��

Rebecca Cooper, Head of People and Development at ������Ƶ, said: “We are very proud to have achieved Leaders in Diversity accreditation with the National Centre for Diversity. We have been working closely with the centre since 2020 to make ������Ƶ a truly inclusive place to work and train.��

“Using the FREDIE acronym we have worked with our employees, learners, partners and suppliers to develop good practices in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.��

“Through this journey, our leaders have developed extensive knowledge of how FREDIE can help drive performance, creativity and diversity throughout the business which will ultimately enable ������Ƶ to meet its strategic aims and long-term goals.��

“Our EDI Steering Group has been key in driving actions forward and our EDI Staff Advisory group has been instrumental in gathering feedback and putting forward ideas.����

“I’d like to thank the National Centre for Diversity for guiding us through this process and to everyone that has been involved in preparing for and undertaking the assessment. We are by no means complacent though. We still have areas to improve on and are confident that through our continued work on FREDIE, ������Ƶ will truly be the most innovative, inclusive training provider in the UK.”��