Issue 11DEC2014

SPRINGBOARD HARTLEPOOL

STORY INSIDE..Read about how ourpartnership, with a veryforward thinking company inHartlepol, is giving Danielle achance to get a qualificationand a job which she neverthought possible. Page 4

learners shine atgem awards 2014Once again Springboard staff,employers, learners andtrustees assembled at theBest Western Roker Hotel,Sunderland for an evening ofprize-giving to those whohad Gone the Extra Mileduring the past year.

All of the Springboard centresacross the region were wellrepresented, for a lovely evening tocelebrate all that is great and goodabout this training provider.

Trust Secretary, Denise Wilsoncommenced proceedings by givingan overview of 2014. She declaredit was the best year ever forachievements, before handing themic over to host Colin Wilson andthe special guest invited to presentthe awards, former Sunderland AFCFA Cup Winner 1973, Dick Malone.

Categories up for grabs includedEmployer of the Year, StudyProgramme Learner of The Year,Tutor of the Year, Skills for Life

Learner of the Year andApprentices of the Year in manydifferent vocational areasincluding Design and Print,Horticulture, Business Admin,Childcare, Retail, Care, Teachingand Warehousing.

Denise Wilson said; Well doneto all our winners and nomineeswho thoroughly deserved anopportunity to shine in thespotlight, and have their hardwork and achievementsrecognised.

more about this inside

1390the number of young people andadults that Springboard haveworked with in the past year.

78the percentage of our overallachievements in apprenticeshipswhich is 3% up on last year

2014 ReviewWe are proud to say that Springboard has grown into alarge and vibrant organisation with excellent premisesand facilities across the North East in Sunderland, EastDurham, Hartlepool and South Tyneside. We organisetraining and volunteering opportunities for people of allage groups, and we work closely with local employersto provide work experience, apprenticeships and jobopportunities for all our learners.

2014 has been a successful year for Springboard in manyways. We are helping more young people and adults thanever before and our success rates have improved overall. Thisyear has been even more significant as on the 31st July 2014Springboard became completely independent and withdrewfrom the CSV group after many years. This independence willensure that Springboard continues to offer qualityopportunities for people to develop their personal andvocational skills to support the growth of sustainablecommunities.

Next year will be Springboards 40th birthday - watchout for special events to celebrate! We aim to make2015 Springboards best year ever!

You can apply for anyof our programmesnow onlinewww.springboard-ne.org.uk

Springboard has won Training Provider of theYear in the recent Sunderland Echo Portfolio2014 Business Awards.The award, sponsored by Northumbrian Water, waspresented to Springboard in recognition for its workin not only delivering training, but also providing anexceptional journey for individuals, boostingeducation, confidence and social skills of people inthe community.

The judges were looking for organisations that havemade significant contributions to enhance the skilllevels of other businesses. They describedSpringboard as 'going above and beyond in thisaccolade.

The awards ceremony was held at The SunderlandStadium of Light which saw the business communityacross Wearside, South Tyneside and East Durhamgather to celebrate the achievements and growth ofbusiness in the region.

Denise Wilson, Springboard Trust Secretary, said:We are very pleased to receive this award. Thisis really good news for all of the staff atSpringboard as well the learners and employersthat we work with.Springboard Trust Secretary Denise Wilson (bottom left) collects the award on

behalf of the company

HARTLEPOOL LEARNER OF THE YEAR TERRI CHAPMANhighly commended ARIANNE SIMMONSThere was strong competition in theHartlepool Learner of the Year award thisyear. Terri Chapman (above) wasnominated by her Tutor/Assessor who feltstrongly that Terri had excelled in everyarea of her apprenticeship programmeand has delighted her employers atFootprints Nursery in Hartlepool.

Highly Commended in this category wasArianne Simmons (right), who has beenan exceptional apprentice on the designand print programme at Tower Designthis year.

WINNERS GALLERY from front pageOur Hartlepool centre did very well at the GEM Awards this year.With some of our learners taking the top honours despite stiffcompetition from other centres across the North East. Here are justsome of our worthy winners.

The nominees for all of the categories had made great achievementsduring the past year. Some had proved to be outstanding apprentices andemployees. Some had achieved way above their expectations and someovercame personal difficulties which made their journey all the moreremarkable. All of the learners gave our award panel very difficult decisionsto make. We must also say thank you to the employers who have giventheir full support to the learners on their apprenticeship journey.Apprentice of the Year

Horticulture Wayne McKenna Wayne, a Greenkeeper atBillingham Golf Club wasnominated by hisSpringboard Tutor /Assessor. Wayne has hadan outstanding attitudeto his HorticultureApprenticeship in 2014.

Apprentice of the YearDESIGN & PRINT LIAM DEFTY Hartlepool Apprentice Liamdeserved his win against heavyopposition this year.

Liam had a great attitude to hisapprenticeship from thebeginning and consistentlydelivered a very high standardof work. He was also very shywhen he began his job rolewith Tower Design, but hisconfidence grew so much thathe now flourishes on his unicourse.

It is well recognised by many employers thatvocational training and apprenticeships in theworkplace develop a motivated, skilled andqualified workforce.

Businesses that offer Apprenticeships thinkthat they can help with their long-termdevelopment and productivity, and accordingto the British Chambers of Commerce,businesses usually employ an apprentice toimprove the skills available within theirorganisation.

One company in Hartlepool who knows this to betrue is View Logistics. The company who supplytelephone sales, accounts, stock control,warehousing, transport and logistical services tothe flooring sector have fully embraced the work-based-learning model and have been working inpartnership with Springboard for a number ofyears.

The company has always supported young peopleby giving them opportunities and experiencethrough work placements and employedapprenticeships.

Championing this is Carol Clayton who managesthe Sales Team at View Logistics. She is passionateabout giving young people a break, and claimsthat the majority of young people she hasnurtured through the programme have developedinto dedicatedemployees ofthe business.

Carol, who canquickly spotpotential innew staff said;

I have ayoung team here at View Logistics but Ifirmly believe that they are the very best. Itis a very demanding role and the staff areexpected to work hard to ensure that we candeliver and fulfill all of the orders.

The company have regularly taken on apprentices

96% of employersthat take on anapprentice reportbenefits to theirbusiness.

EmployersEmbracingApprenticeshipsWith Pride

Carol Clayton Sales Manager (far right) with some of her Springboardapprentices. Aimee, Matthew, Josie and Danielle

Apprentice of the YearBusiness Admin & Customer ServiceT Josie BarberJosie Barber employed by View Logisticsbecame Springboards Business Admin &Customer Service Apprentices of the Year dueto her fantastic work ethic and approach toher job and apprenticeship.

Her Manager Carol Clayton has been soimpressed with Josies progress in her salesteam that she endorsed her nomination forthe award.and learners from Springboard Hartlepools Study

Programme. Some of these young people mayhave been unsure of a career direction or maynot have not done as well in their exams as theyhoped to. Some suffer from a lack of confidenceand find it hard to make that first step into theworkplace. Through a part-time work programmethey are shown the ropes and allocated tasks tosee how they fare in this challengingenvironment. Impressing Carol is key to securinga job opportunity with View Logistics, and twosuch learners doing just that are Matthew Bownand Danielle Harrison, 17 who have progressedonto the Apprenticeship programme.

Danielle said; I am really enjoying my job atView Logistics and I love working in this team. Iam only just starting out but I can not wait tolearn more.

Andrea Whincop is the Springboard Tutor and

Assessor assigned to the View Logistics apprentices.She said: View Logistics are very supportive ofboth the apprentices and us as a training provider.Apprentices are encouraged with theirqualification which creates an atmosphere wherethe apprentices make strides in their Diplomawork, as Josie and other learners have shown. Wehope this partnership can continue for a long timeto come.

We are always looking for workplacements in all kinds ofvocational areas? Call 01429 287075 for more info

The girls cando it too!

More recently, successful achievements from thestudio have seen a fantastic trio of girls achievetheir advanced apprenticeships and leave us tomake their mark upon the world. All three girls from Hartlepool have made a massivecontribution to the success of the Tower Designstudio whilst working towards their qualification.Mollie Macdonald 17 achieved in October and iscurrently undertaking A Level courses at HartlepoolSixth Form College in preparation for university life.Megan Lazenby 18, left us in November and havingsecured herself a part time job is in process ofcompleting her UCAS application for higher educationtoo. Arianne Simmons 19, meanwhile has achieved

the magnificent feat of securing a full time job withAltered Images, a Hartlepool based company whoprovide printed and embroidered clothing. Her jobwill be to create new designs and help to promotethe brands through social media. Well done girls!

Meg Mollie Arianne

Springboard into HigherEducationOur 2014 achievers from the SpringboardHartlepool design and print programme startedthe next chapter of their education, as theybegan their university courses this Autumn.

Curtis Taylor 18, Nathan Malone 18, Jack Milburn 18and Liam Defty 19 achieved their AdvancedApprenticeship in Digital Artwork for Print this yearand were all accepted onto Higher Educationcourses on completion of their qualificationsdelivered by Springboard Hartlepool.Curtis and Nathan are studying a Foundation Degreeat Hartlepool College of Further Education throughTeesside University. Jack is studying BA in GraphicDesign at Teesside University and Liam is studying atNewcastle College. All four were employed at theTower Design studio in Hartlepool where theyworked on real client products and learned theessential skills, techniques and software needed forthem to succeed in this competitive field. Theirimpressive portfolios earned them high praise fromthe universities and colleges to whom they appliedduring the application process.

Their tutor at Springboard Hartlepool, Helen Smithsaid; "These four have been a real asset to thebusiness and have taken an unconventionalroute into Higher Education. Their knowledgeand experience and portfolios have made themstand out at interview, and their workingexperience will also give them a head startonce they complete their degrees, and start tolook for work in the industry".

Were always on thelookout for creative talent in our design team.If you have A-Cs in English Maths and can showyour artistic ability then this could be the job foryou, working towards an advancedapprenticeship in design and print.

Vacancies are advertised onwww.apprenticeships.org but you cancontact helen for more information oninfotowerdesign@gmail.com

Springboard learners and staff braved the ice-cold waters of theNorth Sea to help raise money for BBC Children in Need.Despite the absolutely horrendous weather conditions, more than50 people turned up at Roker beach in Sunderland to take part inthe Splash for Cash sponsored dip.Dressed in all manner of fancy dress outfits they plunged into thesea raising over five hundred pounds for the appeal.

Well done to everyone who took part and to those whoorganized it. Even those who werent brave enough to go in thesea, the torrential rain made sure they got a good soaking too!

You can apply for anyof our programmesnow onlinewww.springboard-ne.org.uk

Springboard Works is a specialistprogramme for people aged 19-24 and 25+who are not in employment, education ortraining, to gain qualifications and workexperience in order to move closer to thejob market.Springboard provides training and support in manydifferent vocational areas across the North East.At Hartlepool learners are given training andsupport in Maths, English and ICT.

One of our success stories is Stephen Stoneswho recently achieved his Functional ICT Entry 3.Stephen has come a long way since he firstembraced the training programme and has gainedso much more confidence. He has even boughthis first android phone, as he can now use it toaccess the internet and emails.

SPRINGBOARD

WORKSSuccessfulOutcomes for Mature Learners

Another one of our superstar works programmelearners is Angela Rider. She recently passedFunctional ICT and also completed a shortEnglish course. Her confidence has developed somuch that she has recently begun an NVQ inCustomer Retail with the British Heart Foundation.She said; I couldn't have done it without thesupport of the Springboard staff.

Other achievements have included :- Mario Woodward passed Functional ICT Entry 3and is currently working towards Entry 3Functional EnglishRobert Wilson Functional ICT Entry 3Vera Wallace Functional ICT Entry 3Lesley Pilmor Functional ICT Entry currentlyworking to Level 1 Functional English, and hasjust passed the reading section.

Roll of HonorSome other notableachievements in Skills forLife classes included

Bethany HanlonLevel 2 Functional EnglishLevel 2 Functional Maths

Shanice BroomLevel 2 Functional EnglishLevel 2 Functional Maths

Callum Twidale Level 1 Functional EnglishLevel 1 Functional Maths

Kirsty ReedLevel 1 Functional EnglishLevel 1 Functional Maths

Josh WatsonLevel 1 Functional EnglishLevel 1 Functional Maths

You can find out more byfollowing SpringboardHartlepool on the webFacebook and TwitterWeb www.springboard-ne.org.uk

Find us at www.facebook.com/SpringboardHartlepool

or follow us on Twitter @SpringboardHart

01429 287075 or email info@springboard-ne.org

13 Tower Street, Hartlepool TS24 7HH

This newsletter was produced by Tower Design@Springboard Hartlepool. Tel: 01429 287075 email: hsmith@springboard-ne.org / infotowerdesign@gmail.com

Mole Catchers Cottage is our award winning cosy cottage with a contemporarytwist. It is situated in the heart of the secret North Pennines, in the village ofAllenheads. Beamed throughout, the cottage has one double and one twinbedroom, a living room with wood burning stove and a charming modernkitchen and bathroom.

It is available to let throughout the year for more information visitwww.molecatcherscottage.co.uk or contact Sarah on 0191 5640291sbrewis@springboard-ne.org

You can apply for anyof our programmesnow onlinewww.springboard-ne.org.uk

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13 Tower Street

Hartlepool

TS24 7HH

01429 287075

infotowerdesign@gmail.com

The Tower Design

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take care of all of your

design and print needs.

We provide a professional

service at sensible prices.