National Apprenticeship Awards 2020 – Su Smith Highly Commended

Su Smith

We are delighted to announce that at the National Apprenticeship Awards 2020, which were held virtually this week, Su Smith, our Apprenticeship Manager, was highly commended in the Apprenticeship Champion category for the West Midlands.

Su is a passionate advocate of the benefits that apprenticeships can give both our staff and the organisation as a whole, and works tirelessly to promote the opportunities that are available and to help our staff develop and reach their potential.

“I am so proud that our Apprenticeship Manager Suzanne Smith won the Highly Commended ‘Apprenticeship Champion of the Year’ Award in the West Midlands National Apprenticeship Awards 2020. It is a testament to all the hard work she has put into developing Apprenticeship pathways across Cygnet over the last few years. A huge well done and congratulates to Su on her award.”Mandy Blanchard, Head of Learning and Development

Su said, “People underestimate the power of apprenticeships to motivate staff and drive performance. They unlock opportunities, help people find their skill set, develop their knowledge and learn. Seeing people being able to achieve their career goals is truly inspiring and being nominated by one of my Apprentices is amazing and is reward in itself.”

Cygnet’s Trainee Nursing Associate Apprenticeship Programme was also recognised when our key involvement in a partnership with the University of Teesside was recognised at the Student Nursing Times Awards, when the University scooped the top prize for Nurse Associate Programme of the Year.

Cygnet provides placements for Trainee Nursing Associates from Teesside University, and has supported 15 Apprentices across 10 Cygnet services in the past year.

This follows last year’s success when we jointly won the Partnership of the Year award and Apprentice of the Year with the University of Wolverhampton, with Katy Blakemore from Sherwood House taking this prestigious honour.

Our first fully qualified Nurse Associates are now taking up posts across the business and with 3 further cohorts completing in the next 3 to 18 months.

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