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Professional Training Solutions

NEWSLETTER JULY 2017

Directors Comments - Jackie Denyer

The apprenticeship landscape is changing. From 1st May, with the introduction of the Levy and new standards replacing frameworks, we are embracing the changes. Constant change in our sector seems the norm, and something we must embrace to keep ahead of our competitors by thinking creatively, ensuring we maintain the quality of our training to the highest standards that our learners and employers come to expect from us. We welcome the election of the new Apprenticeship and Skills Minister, Anne Milton MP for Guildford, and hope that she will provide the sector with more certainty and stability.

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The Apprenticeship Levy is now in full swing, and the new funding rules apply. Despite the Education and Skills Funding Agency holding back funding for Non-Levy employers and deferring decisions until December, and a number of new standards not yet released, we are doing all the preparation we can and keeping abreast of all the changes and development.

We are working with all our current employers to look at how these changes will affect their business and how we can work with them to utilise the funding opportunities available. It is truly exciting to work with employers to determine what their business needs are in training and development, and how we can deliver flexible solutions and qualifications that meet their needs. Alongside the changes, we have a number of exciting new qualifications that we are adding to our portfolio over the coming months, so watch this space!

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NEWSLETTER JULY 2017

Ebony Francis Tutor - Chrissy Payne Ebony completed her level 2 qualification (Business Admin) in May and is now

progressing on to do her level 3. She has worked really hard to adjust to her first

professional working environment. She has found it hard to keep momentum at

times, but she has listened and take on board so many peoples comments and

feedback and found her own way to keep pushing forward and now she is feeling

the benefit from increased responsibility and job satisfaction. She has shown great perseverance with a number of things, one being learning how

to drive and gaining that level of independence, the other was with her Functional

Skills in ICT and Maths. Ebony passed her ICT Level 1 and is working towards her

Level 2 in Maths and is just about to embark on her Level 3 Business Admin

qualification.

Agnes Bryna-Lenyel Tutor - Sarah Jacques Agnes has been working at Home Counties Carers for 18 months. English is Agnes

second language and she was concerned that she would not be able to complete her

functional skills; she put a great deal of effort working with her FS tutor and

assessor to improve her skills and passed her tests first time. Agnes has worked extremely hard on her course work for her diploma and technical

certificate ensuring she meets all of her targets whilst continuing to complete

workplace training with HCC. Agnes is now at 99% complete (ahead of target) and

has demonstrated that she is using her new knowledge in her role as a competent

home care worker.

Claire Moloney Tutor - Sam Robin

Claire is studying a Level 3 SSTL qualification with Professional Training Solutions

at Onslow Infant School. Claire is currently battling breast cancer, dealing with her

father who has terminal cancer and the death of her mother in law all in the last

month. Claire is still meeting deadlines and still has a smile on her face, she is a true

inspiration and such a lovely, lovely lady!!

Tonya Hale Tutor - Amanda Main

Tonya moved out of the area and has made several long trips to Farnham to sit

exams. Tonya has not given up on math’s, even though this has always been an area

she has struggled in since school. Tonya has given more than 100% of herself to

prepare for the exam. Mandy (Functional Skills Tutor) is so proud of her

achievements and dedication.

Congratulations to our Learners of the month…!

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NEWSLETTER JULY 2017

Are you planning for success?

There’s a famous saying, ‘If you fail to plan,

you’re planning to fail!’

So what is the value of having a plan?

The process of putting a plan together, makes

you much more likely to succeed if your mind is

focussed on your chosen goal. By sitting down

and working through what needs to happen to

achieve your goal, you are much more likely to

identify what you can do yourself, what you may

need others to do for you, and when those

activities need to be carried out.

Clarity of thought leads to clarity of action.

And without ACTION, nothing will be

achieved.

So where to begin?

As when setting out on a journey, we need to

know where we are going! This means being

clear on the outcome we wish to achieve. The

clearer we are on our Goal, the more likely we

will be motivated to carry out the necessary

actions. In short, it needs to be a personally

motivating goal, otherwise the actions

become chores, rather than a means to a highly

desirable end.

Developed from George T. Doran´s Management

Review piece* SMART goal setting brings

structure and traceability into your goals and

objectives. Instead of vague resolutions, SMART

goal setting creates a clear trajectory towards a

certain objective, with concrete milestones and

an estimation of the goal’s attainability. Every

goal or objective, from intermediary step to

overarching objective, can be made S.M.A.R.T.

and as such, brought closer to reality.

Specific - Be specific on the outcome you want to

achieve. If it is an increase in revenue, write how

much you want the revenue to be in numbers

and the period over which you want to achieve

that, e.g. I want to increase revenue is too vague.

Measurable - As you can see above it is

necessary to choose a goal that you can measure

as you progress. Without this how can you be

certain whether you have achieved it? What gets

measured, gets managed!

Achievable - Be careful that the Goal you choose

is realistically capable of being achieved. We all

have pipe dreams of cruising on our luxury

yachts to our private islands but in reality, that

may be a few planning sessions away just yet!

Realistic - To test how realistic this goal is ask

yourself questions like, have others achieved it

before you? and Did they have similar resource

availability? What we don’t want to do is set

ourselves up for failure before we’ve even

started!

Time bound - Be clear over what period you

want to achieve your goal, or by what date you

want to have achieved it. Not just in the next few

months but during the three months of July 2016

to September 2016, or by midnight on

31st December 2016. Clarity of dates and periods

will all help in measuring your rate of progress

as you execute your plan.

To read the full version, visit

www.neilcanty.com

Planning for success with Neil Canty

Neil Canty ActionCOACH Now a business coach distinguished by the learning ActionCOACH global franchise, Neil can help your business grow. Offering skills crafted over 35years at CFO posts within the aviation sector, including a successful IPO and numerous listed companies on the London Stock Exchange.

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NEWSLETTER JULY 2017

Everyone working at Home Counties Carers

shares in a common belief. That belief is simple;

“We believe that all of our clients deserve the

best care.”

The key to achieving this is simple - attract and

employ the best Carers. Unfortunately attracting

the best carers isn’t easy, but it is made possible

with a business that has:

• strong beliefs and ethics

• a friendly and professional working

environment

• a flexible and inclusive approach to Carer’s

rota’s

• a naturally supportive and attentive office team

If someone is friendly, reliable, trustworthy and

competent they are on the right track to becoming

a great Carer. We specifically look for Carers who

naturally live and work by traditional values;

being polite & well mannered, timely, well

presented, with clear communication skills and

can demonstrate common sense.

Once you have attracted the best Carers, it is vital

you keep them happy and motivated, giving them

a sense of worth and continue to help them with

their own personal

The Best Carers By Matthew Kalupka

A Comment from one of our Health & Social Care learners: ’I am so pleased with my progress at PTS. I transferred to PTS after being with another training provider for 14 months. During those 14 months, I never met my assessor and only completed 19% of the qualification. I have now been with PTS for 10 weeks and am now 70% complete. The PTS team have been amazing! I know that I can contact my assessor at any time if I need any extra support It just shows that with the right training and assessors, learners are able to develop and grow with their qualification’.

development. Education and learning is one of the

most effective ways to do this. These days there are

so many ways to help your staff learn, some

opportunities are quite cheap and fall at your

fingertips, others require more effort and

investment, but they are all worth it.

We are very fortuitous to find ourselves working

with PTS. They share similar values, ethics and

professionalism which makes the relationship work

very easily. What really excites us is that every

single one of our 20 plus Carers that have started an

NVQ/QCF with PTS have completed and passed

them, thank you Sarah! I doubt many other training

providers could boast that.

We are very proud of all our Carers and I think it

would be safe to say that they are proud to be part

of Home Counties Carers! If you would like to be

part of Home Counties Carers please do call

Matthew or Lucinda for a chat:

01483 224 985

Sarah Jacques Sector Lead - Health and Social Care The Health and Social care team at PTS are dedicated to delivering high quality training and assessment and ensuring learners competency to work with vulnerable adults. Despite the repeated negative reports on different aspects of social care, we are proud to work with local employers who strive to provide high quality care.

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NEWSLETTER JULY 2017

PTS News

‣ We would like to welcome Liam Faughnan to the Professional Training Solutions

team! Liam has recently joined us as our new Client Relationship Manager; he has

many years of experience in apprenticeships and we are excited to work with him to

expand the range of apprenticeships we can offer. Watch this space… there are

exciting things to come!

Liam would love to meet our clients and understand your business, so feel free to

contact Liam about arranging a meeting or if you have any questions or queries feel

free to e mail Liam - l.faughnan@protrain-solutions.co.uk

‣ The position of Business Manager has been taken over by our own Sharon Butcher.

Sharon has been with the company for over 7 years and we are very excited to have

her continue her great work.

‣ Lastly, we would like to wish all the luck in the world to Helen Vickery who is having a

baby! Congratulations Helen!

GREAT COURSE OFFERS…! First Aid at Work - Only £65 per person

Only includes courses taking place at the PTS Head Office.

If you are interested, then please contact:

enquiries@protrain-solutions.co.uk

Offer available until the end of September

Remember to mention the newsletter when enquiring

Skills for Growth Skills for Growth is offering FREE training

and qualifications to support employees to

improve their skills and knowledge through

work-based learning. This project is funded

by the European Social Fund (ESF) and co-

financed by the Education and Skills Funding

Agency (ESFA)

The opportunity is being opened up to the

following Sectors:

- Advanced manufacturing

- Creative, digital & IT

- Environmental technologies

- Financial and business services

- Health & life sciences

- Care

- Construction

If you want to know more details &

are interested in accessing the

training, then please contact

enquiries@protrain-solutions.co.uk

‣ We would like to congratulate Sue Nichols who has

been voted as a finalist at the Nursery World Awards

2017 for Trainer of the year! This is a tremendous

achievement as she was nominated against some

incredibly tough competition this year.

Congratulations Sue!

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Thank you very much for taking the time to read our very first PTS

Newsletter. We hope you have enjoyed the first issue.

Please let us know if there is anything you would like to see in our next issue

- suggestions are greatly received.

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion,

some compassion, some humour and some style.

~ Maya Angelou

Dreams and dedication are a powerful combination.

~ William Longgood

NEWSLETTER JULY 2017

Training Room for hire Our well equipped training room in Farnham is available for hire. Perfect for

training sessions or as a meeting space.

For more details contact Professional Training Solutions

enquiries@protrain-solutions.co.uk