As more businesses across Wales reopen following the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions, an award-winning work-based learning provider is ready to help them adapt to the “new normal” with their apprenticeship and recruitment needs.
Celebrating its 25th year of delivering skills, Cambrian Training is a pan-Wales learning provider with offices in Welshpool, Llanelli, Builth Wells, Holyhead and Colwyn Bay.
Many companies, which have furloughed staff and carried out skills reviews during the pandemic, will now be adapting to the new economic reality. Sadly, some people are losing their jobs, as businesses either close or reduce their workforce.
Cambrian Training is able to support businesses in the sectors it serves by upskilling the existing workforce to meet new challenges, or by recruiting apprentices and unemployed young people to fill Jobs Growth Wales (JGW) vacancies.
The company delivers Foundation Apprenticeships, Apprenticeships and Higher Apprenticeships in Hospitality, including Craft Cuisine and British Institute of Innkeepers, Food and Drink Manufacture, Butchery, Health and Social Care, Children’s Early Years, Equine, Financial Services, Team Leading and Management, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies, Retail and Customer Service, Sustainable Resource Management and Water Engineering.
With many apprentices across Wales furloughed, they are using the time to press ahead with their apprenticeship portfolio.
Although Cambrian Training’s staff have been unable to meet learners face-to-face, they have helped apprentices to forge ahead with their qualifications remotely by using digital technology to provide online support.
Directors and staff are staying connected to their learners via the City & Guilds’ Learning Assistant e-portfolio system. They use Google Hangouts to speak face to face with learners even though they are often hundreds of miles apart. This enables them to provide support and review evidence for learners’ apprenticeship portfolios.
Managing director Arwyn Watkins, OBE, believes the Covid-19 crisis has been transformational for the business.
“The pandemic has made the company re-evaluate the way we do business, engage with learners and colleagues and how we utilise our IT resources to reduce our environmental impact,” he said.
“We have learnt a lot during this crisis about ourselves and the hidden talents we have within the business.
“The dedication of our workforce and the partnership approach we encourage with businesses are key to securing a wide range of practical skills that benefit the individuals that we work with and help to establish them as valuable employees.”
In their spare time, Cambrian Training’s staff have also been busy making potentially lifesaving face masks, surgical caps and scrubs for front line workers in Wales during the lockdown, inspired by hospitality training officer Lisa Jagger from Llanelli and her mum, Bethan.
Donna Heath, national sustainability champion for the Culinary Association of Wales and Cambrian Training, has also developed a free, 30-minute, bilingual online workshop to teach families about food sustainability. Both versions are available at www.youtube.com/channel/UCf-ft3uGM4rgSX51X4ReRCQ ,
www.facebook.com/CambrianTrainingCompany/videos/225119982152774/ and www.facebook.com/CambrianTrainingCompany/videos/819376515218362/
Children and parents in lockdown across Wales are learning how they can play their part in taking care of the planet thanks to the interactive Food Heroes workshop, which is linked to the UNICEF sustainability initiative, the World’s Largest Lesson.
Apprenticeships are a great way for employers to develop employees with the skills and experience they need within their businesses.
Apprentices train in the workplace alongside experienced employees normally for between two and three years. Employers cover their wages and the Welsh Government offers support with some of the training costs.
Training is overseen by Cambrian Training, which regularly assesses the apprentice’s progress. Learning through apprenticeships can help staff develop practical skills in the workplace that are essential to develop a successful career in the industry.
The JGW programme, which is funded by the Welsh Government, is designed to help growing businesses create sustainable job opportunities for unemployed and job ready young people aged between 16-24 years old.
The programme provides valuable opportunities for young people to kick start their career. New recruits are paid at least the national minimum wage for a minimum of 25 hours a week and JGW reimburses half of their wage cost for the first six months.
To receive support, a business must create a real job and not a six-month work placement or temporary cover and must have traded for more than six months in the private or third sector in Wales. Employers must be committed to retaining their new employee beyond the six-month period.
To check out the range of job vacancies, apprenticeships and JGW opportunities available at companies, with which Cambrian Training works, visit www.cambriantraining.com/wp/en/jobs/
The Apprenticeship Programme in Wales is funded by the Welsh Government with support from the European Social Fund.
