The BUZZ
Welcome to the August edition of The Buzz where we update you on the activities of our team, our business partners and most importantly, our apprentices! It has been a whirlwind first few weeks for me as I took up the reins as Swarm Training’s CEO - and what a few weeks it has been! I certainly chose an exciting time to join you all. I spent a glorious 2 days at the Royal Norfolk Show, spending time in conversation with local businesses and learners at the Swarm Training stand and then watching children and young people joyfully exploring STEM activities, with some of our wonderful apprentices, at the Swarm REAGIT tent. The sun was shining and the team went above and beyond to inspire, engage and connect with local businesses, children and young people, and potential new learners. Then, of course, we had the General Election. It is too early to see whether the new Labour government will make the positive changes to apprenticeships, skills and FE we would like to see but it was certainly encouraging that the sector had such a high profile in the King's speech. We watch with anticipation how things unfold over the next few months.
I have also spent a lot of time talking to the Swarm team and getting to know everyone. It has been fascinating to hear about their journeys with Swarm, and their aspirations for the future, as we continue to grow. The pride the team has in the achievements of our learners over the last few months has also been brilliant to see, so many fantastic results to celebrate and so much hard work from the learners! Congratulations to all of you who have achieved EPA success this year.
Over the next few months I am hoping to visit some of our clients; to meet some of our learners and the businesses who employ them, and to hear about what more we can do to support you all. I am always happy to have a conversation, over the phone or in person, to answer any questions, so please do get in touch.
Jennifer Perry, CEO of Swarm Training
Community Connections at The Norfolk Show
At the end of June, The Swarm Group participated in the annual Royal Norfolk Show. The annual event is a highlight in our calendar, and this year was no exception. The show provides our business with an abundance of networking opportunities in the local community, enabling us to reconnect with familiar faces whilst also forming lots of new relationships. There's the added benefit of escaping our computer screens for some face to face contact, which always lifts our spirits!
Our stand was stationed in the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce Business Hub, where the atmosphere was brimming with positivity and excitement.
A special highlight was meeting some of
our apprentices who were working on their employer’s stands. It was great to be able to meet in person again, to chat and take photos together, and Suzanne even took the opportunity to deliver a little bit of teaching to her very willing apprentice where she could see an opportunity at the show for him to practice a skill he has been learning on his course.
We left with numerous new appointments and potential collaborations - and a spring in our step! If you are a business in Norfolk and haven’t yet been, we highly recommend attending next year. It’s a fantastic family event where local businesses come together and share their passion for what they do.
LABOUR ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO THE TRAINING SECTOR
In July, Sir Kier Starmer announced major changes to skills training delivery in England, designed to address the current skills shortages and to support the new government's plan for economic growth.
These changes include:
A new body called Skills England to replace the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education (IfATE). The new body will change how apprenticeship training is shaped and how the levy is spent.
• There will be more flexibility for businesses to spend levy funds on training for the skills they need.
Skills England will be responsible for maintaining a list of levy-eligible training to ensure value for money and that the mix of government-funded training available to learners and employers aligns with the identified skills’ needs. The government will also bring forward a comprehensive strategy for post-16 education to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce, and drive economic growth through their industrial strategy.
The new system will be rolled out in phases over the next nine to 12 months with IfATE continuing its work in the interim.
Latest figures from Gov.UK show that apprenticeships are still popular. Figures for the 2023/2024 academic year so far show apprenticeship starts at 278,590, are up by 1.1% on the 275,630 reported in the same period last year.
THOUGHTS FROM OUR CEO:
"A new government and potentially a new broom sweeping across the FE sector brings many questions and, at the moment, not many answers. We know that the devil is in the detail and much will depend on how the legislative process impacts on the roll out of the policy pledges made over recent weeks but, so far, there seem to be some positive announcements.
The replacement of IfATE with Skills England will be interesting, particularly understanding where they differ and what the benefits of a new body will be. The most important thing we see at the moment is the upcoming flexibility in the Apprenticeship Levy and its use for nonapprenticeship training. For us, this should have a positive impact on ensuring recruitment with integrity; that the right people are being placed onto the right training courses.
To deliver this, it will be vital that all FE organisations, who already have an existing contract with the DFE and have already undergone the rigorous quality and compliance checks, are the ones who are delivering these. It would be disastrous for the sector, and for learners, if unregulated, untried and untested providers are brought in to deliver on these shorter courses. Maintaining the quality of education and training, and ensuring parity of oversight, such as OFSTED, and the ROAPT must be at the forefront of any changes made to the flexibility in the levy. There are already excellent systems and networks in place so we hope that they won’t be throwing the baby out with the bathwater when these changes are implemented. However, as providers, we recognise the need for us to be open to a more flexible training offer and will be actively talking to you, our employers, as to what training you require to ensure your business can make the most out of any future opportunities with the levy.
We look forward to being a part of the conversation with leaders and industry bodies as these proposals go forward into the consultation process."
Author: Jennifer Perry
We nurture growth and celebrate success
CELEBRATING OUR APPRENTICES
Apprenticeships vary in length; some last 12 months, others can take 2 years.
But if the apprentice is committed, they can go through to EPA earlier than the maximum time allowed.
12 month's and a day is the minimum amount of time required before Gateway is permitted.
Such is the dedication of Niamh O'Keefe, Business Administrator student, that she has been able to go though to Gateway at the earliest possible date! Niamh, who works at Sanctuary Personnel, has impressed tutor Rebecca Evers with her self motivation and hard work.
We're very proud of one of our Events Assistant apprentices, Charlotte Thorne, who is employed at Medway Council.
Charlotte has been putting her organisational skills to the test by leading a huge family event in Gillingham town centre.
Held on 1st September, the event has required
CURIOUS ABOUT MARKETING?
a considerable amount of detailed project management, including arranging for the busy High Street to be temporarily closed for the day! Her tutor, Elle Vernon is very proud of her efforts to pull this off.
Pop along if you're in the Gillingham area!
Congratulations to Gracie Matthews who is studying for her Business Administrator L3 apprenticeship. She hasn't completed her course yet, and already Gracie has been promoted from Junior Medical Admin Assistant to Trainee Medical Secretary at Designated PA, with the hope that in a few short months she will be a fully trained Medical Secretary.
Her line manager, Taylor Brayne, says:
" It is because of Gracie’s success and how well she has learned the role that we have now recruited three new apprentices to follow suit, which is incredible! We are really proud of her"
Are you considering embarking on a Marketing Apprenticeship? Or perhaps you are a hiring manager who wants to know more about the benefits of an apprenticeship?
In this video, you can hear from one of our recent apprentices, Rachel Lawrence, on how the course provided practical support for her role.
During her apprenticeship, Rachel was employed at Worstead Estate, Norfolk, and got involved in a variety of marketing activities, including project managing the Farmers' Market. Whilst working towards her level 3 Marketing Assistant qualification, she also established her own photography business AND gained her Rescue Diver qualification in scuba diving. We are also delighted to announce that Rachel recently passed her course with a Distinction!
Take a look at her video:
What do you enjoy about your role at Swarm?
TUTOR SPOTLIGHT
Tutor: Luke Turner
What subjects do you teach?
Functional Skills English and maths. (Swarm is able to support learners who need to complete their maths and English qualifications alongside their apprenticeships.)
How long have you worked for Swarm?
I am very new to Swarm and started my role at the beginning of May 2024.
What was your career prior to tutoring?
I previously worked in the TV and film industry for a short period of time before swapping celebrities and wrap-parties for a classroom and a protractor. I have now been working in education for just over 7 years; specialising in maths, English & sciences.
For more than half of this time I worked in prison education delivering functional skills to offenders as part of prison rehabilitation initiatives. To further add to this variety I later spent 1 year teaching English as a foreign language in Thailand before I began my role within Swarm.
Swarm holds a fantastic set of values and works very proactively and innovatively. I love the flexibility I have within my role which allows me to enjoy a healthy work/life balance. On top of this, Swarm gives me the autonomy to utilise my individual skill sets from my previous experience. This is the first teaching role where I genuinely feel as though I'm the one in the driver's seat, and my managers have confidence in my ability to take ownership of my learners’ journeys.
What are the challenges of your role?
Remote learning is absolutely the biggest challenge as, more often than not, you just can't beat the typical classroom set-up. However, I've enjoyed this challenge (especially having had little access to online teaching tools within prison education). I've come across many exciting and innovative tools online that can actually make remote teaching just as effective, and most importantly, more accessible.
How do you spend your spare time?
I don't particularly have a standard hobby or activity I enjoy on a regular basis. I tend to have more of a “fixation of the month” kind of lifestyle. I do however enjoy cooking anything non-British (I find roast dinners so boring!) and I absolutely adore travelling.
What are you passionate about?
My biggest passion is, again, travelling. I find that there is no greater experience than discovering a new and mysterious place somewhere on the opposite side of the globe. I have the full intention to visit every single country on the planet in my lifetime; with no exceptions!
Tell us something that may surprise us about you?
Whilst it's probably not a surprise to anyone who's already met me, I was diagnosed with ADHD just over a year ago. It's helped me incredibly to understand my own mind better. Not only this, but it's also meant that I have got so much more insight into the experience of my learners who also have some sort of neurodiversity. So, whilst ADHD does come with its downsides, for sure, I believe it also makes me a much better teacher.
We nurture growth and celebrate success
GOING FOR GOLD! HOW TO ACHEIVE YOUR GOALS
With the 2024 Olympic Games upon us, it's a great opportunity to take inspiration from those hard-working athletes who are achieving their lifelong goals in front of a world wide audience!
Medals, and world records don’t just happen by chance. They are the accumulation of lots of micro steps towards the goal, and years of commitment to the plan.
• You may have set yourself a goal of gaining a distinction in your EPA, or passing by a certain deadline.
• Perhaps you are focussed on a personal goal, outside of work , such as breaking your Park Run record or reading so many books a year?
Having a clearly defined goal and a plan of action is necessary if you hope to strike gold.
How can you stay on track?
Some people rely on technology to monitor progress (Whoop, FitBit, or even a simple spreadsheet). Others use external accountability by buddying up with a partner, or declaring their goal to family and friends.
Visual representation is a powerful way to remind us of our dreams and the reasons why we are making sacrifices to help achieve them.
For instance, if you’re hankering after a holiday in a far away destination, create a mood board of images of your dream trip and that may help you to stay on track with your saving plan.
One method our learners may be familiar with is setting a SMART Goal. Using the SMART goal framework (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) can be adapted to your personal goals, as well as your work ones.
Being SPECIFIC about what you want to achieve will give you clear guidance. For example, instead of saying you want to get fit, break the task down and give a clear description e.g. go to the gym 3 times a week for 30 mins.
Make it MEASURABLE.
Rather that resolve to eating healthily, perhaps you could create a target, like eat 30 different plants a week. The key to stay on target is to continually review your progress. Are you moving in the right direction?
Is your goal ATTAINABLE? Is it realistic for you to achieve the desired outcome. If the goal is too much of a leap, you’re unlikely to stick to it.
Make your goal RELEVANT. Is the change you want going to improve your well-being, your career or bring satisfaction to your life in the long term?
The T stands for TIMELY. Setting a time-frame will ensure you stay on track and make steady progress towards the target. A goal without a deadline is rarely achieved.
Achieving your dream is not just about focussing on what you need to do, but also on what you should no longer be doing - think about what is holding you back currently.
• Are you scrolling social media when you could be training?
• Are you buying a coffee from Costa each morning when you could be banking that towards a holiday?
• Are you staying up too late so you are too tired to work effectively in the morning?
Just like our Olympic contenders have, ensure you scrutinize each of the micro steps that will contribute to the end result.
Have you heard of the term Kaizen?
It is a Japanese term made up of two words for ‘good change’ or ‘improvement’.
Kaizen is an approach to creating continuous improvement based on the idea that small, ongoing positive changes can reap significant improvements. It’s a method developed by the car manufacturing industry, pioneered by Toyota, to improve productivity and employee accountability. Today we know it as lean manufacturing.
Among the principles of Kaizen is the ideology that you should ‘let go of perfectionism and instead take an attitude of iterative, adaptive change.’
This notion that ‘everything can be improved’ was adopted by Sir David Brailsford, the British Cycling coach who joined the team when Britain’s cycling team was struggling to win any accolades.
Brailsford’s revolutionary approach was guided by the theory that '“if you broke down everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, and then improved it by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together”. From the riders’ nutrition, to the clothes they wore, to the design of the bike - even how hairy their legs were - it was all reviewed and improved wherever possible.
The result?
Great Britain led the cycling medal table at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, winning eight golds at both, while British cyclists won 59 World Championships across different disciplines from 2003 to 2013!
MY RUNNING CHALLENGE: From Amy, our Head of Contracts & Compliance
"It’s a big birthday this year and I had set myself a kind of bucket list. One of the items on it was to be able to run 10K by that day. I used to run many years ago as a way to escape, but I had gained a few pounds since then, and I was hesitant to start from scratch. This fear of failure stopped me from starting for some time.
I had to change my mindset and realise that setting new goals was still progress to be celebrated. So, I bit the bullet and began with the Couch to 5K program. With my Garmin watch to monitor progress, I started with a 9-week plan of 3 runs per week. This manageable schedule meant I had fewer excuses to not go.
The first run was a benchmark run: a 2-minute warm-up followed by a 5-minute run. The second run involved a 5-minute walk followed by 1 minute of running, repeated 3 times. By week 6, I was actually starting to enjoy it and looking forward to the runs. I hadn’t missed a single training session!
Struggling with my breathing and the summer heat made it challenging at times, but I persevered. Running in the rain was far more enjoyable. I am pleased with how far I have come. I feel a lot more comfortable running, which is a great achievement for me. After this, I plan to do the 10K program and possibly even train for a half marathon!
Anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Never look back, just keep moving forward, and remember that each step forward is a step further than you were the day before. Seeing all my personal bests and progress has been encouraging and has kept me going." Amy Sobkowiak
MUD GLORIOUS MUD!
Good luck to Jumelle Clarke, apprentice at Sanctuary Personnel, who has set himself the challenge of taking part in a Mud Run to raise funds for Ormiston Families. With his work colleagues, he'll be crawling, climbing, wading through rivers and mud to fundraise for this worthy cause. All very character building! You can see their fundraising page here.
We nurture growth and celebrate success
NEW PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT COACH
FOCUS
"My name is Helen and I have recently started in a new role at Swarm as Personal Development Coach.
Coming from a varied background in marketing, communications, relationship management, office management, education support and nurture, I hope to share my experiences and skills through this role. Swarm has taken this exciting step to provide a fantastic new opportunity for learners, and I am thrilled to have been chosen to take up this role.
Initally, we are running a pilot of this new approach, with 30-50 learners from a small number of specific apprenticeship standards, and we hope to be able to roll this out to more learners in the future.
So, if you have heard from me, please do take the opportunity to book a session and find out more about how I can work with you on your apprenticeship journey.
Whilst tutors will continue to provide all the teaching and learning, I am here to support you with any other aspects during your time with us. I am available to meet up on a regular basis and we can discuss any area not related to your course criteria.
Areas might include organisation, time management, using OneFile, developing an improved approach at work or with your learning, healthy lifestyle management or you may just want to talk about how things are going or explore ideas on how you might maintain a good work life balance.
This is an exciting opportunity for me and our apprentices, and I really look forward to working as part of the Swarm family." Helen Biro
Personal Development Support
How can you support your apprentice?
One of the ways you can help their progression is to allow them to attend one of our regular Personal Development interactive webinars. Not only does attendance count towards the Off The Job Hours requirement, but the topics covered will support your apprentice's progression in their role. Your organisation will benefit from their development in soft skills such as time management, communication and presenting skills.
Our webinars are now CPD Accredited too so attendees can download an offical certificate from the recognised body, The CPD Group. Recent webinars in Presentation Skills and Study Skills have been well received!
"When I was presenting at work, some of the tips from Swarm's presentation webinar were really helpful! One of the pointers I took on board was to involve the audience in an icebreaker. I chose a fun, interactive ice breaker on the topic of my presentation to get started and it definitely got the audience focused and made me feel more relaxed when presenting. Another tip that I adopted was being prepared – I got set up in the meeting room before the presentation and made sure everything worked. This reassured me that everything was going to run smoothly." Chloe Spencer, OSB Group PLC
Paul Riddock
Sam Bryant
Sophie Duffy
SWARM STAFF PASS WITH FLYING COLOURS
Such is our belief in the value of apprenticeships, that our own staff choose to embark on courses too!
Congratulations to Rebecca Rivett, Director of Operations and Safeguarding, who has recently passed her Level 4 Assessor Coaching apprenticeship with distinction! Rebecca reflected on the course: " The Level 4 Assessor Coach standard was the ideal apprenticeship to help me elevate my teaching, coaching, and mentoring skills. The course helped me to identify our service needs so that I can lead my team better, empowering me to confidently develop my decision-making strategies. The criteria also integrated elements of safeguarding, seamlessly aligning with my role in leading the safeguarding and Pastoral team. This will further enhance my ability to grow and develop in that area as the business expands."
As reported in a previous issue, Amy Sobkawiak has been studying towards her Business Administrator Level 3 apprenticeship. We are delighted to announce that Amy also achieved a distinction!
This demonstrates that apprenticeships are not just for school leavers, but also for any employee who wants to expand their skills to support their role. If you'd like to find out more about either of these courses, do get in touch.
