The Mentor
of the Year award is presented to a Manager, Team Leader or Mentor who have provided
and excellent level of support to an apprentice(s) as they complete their Intec
Programme. This year it has been awarded to Rachel Potts of E H Booths & Co.
Rachel has regular meetings with apprentices and has also arranged for guest speakers to come in to advance the learning on the programme and supports them through the EPA process. ‘Vanessa was very nervous about her EPA, so we set aside time to put together her report and PowerPoint. All Vanessa needed was someone there to ask questions and confirm she was on the right path. ‘
Rachel was nominated for the award by Learning
& Development apprentice, Vanessa Pattinson. Through her role as a Learning
& Development Manager, Rachel has become a champion for apprenticeships and
the benefits they bring at E H Booths & Co.
Having partnered with Intec in 2017, E H Booths
& Co. have rolled out a management programme that maps their internal
training to the Team Leader/Supervisor Level 3 apprenticeship. Rachel has been
instrumental in the ongoing success of the programme, supporting apprentices
across the company.
Rachel
is approachable and goes above and beyond in the support of me and all
apprenticeships. She has helped me develop my computer skills, including
Microsoft Forms and Excel sheets, and has given me confidence to speak up and
ask for help. She is encouraging, supportive and a great mentor.’ – Vanessa
Pattinson.
The
most successful apprenticeships programmes are underpinned by a good
relationship between the learner, the training provider, and the employer.
Rachel
exemplifies the kind of support an employer can provide to progress a programme
from good to great. Vanessa’s Tutor, John Felton, agrees: ‘Rachel has created
an understanding and appreciation of mentorship throughout her business. She
has personally mentored 20 plus learners and arranged for a cohort of 18
learners to have a mentor within the business.’ This approach to mentorship
benefits not only the apprentice but also those looking to develop mentoring
skills, providing the mentor with professional development. John continues ‘She
also supported these mentors with an information session around the meaning of
mentorship to help with their understanding.
Rachel’s
attitude to apprenticeships and drive to create a learning culture at E H Booths
& Co. shines through her submission: ‘I am constantly looking at ways to
improve the apprenticeship programmes that we offer, and the mentoring
programme is just one of many elements that I am working on. My aim for all our
apprenticeship programmes is to introduce them to different stakeholders within
the business so that they learn about the different departments and understand
how we all work together. It is also a great way for the learners to explore
possible career pathways as we like to promote from within.’
Rachel has gone above and
beyond to help her colleagues understand the true meaning of mentorship and
continues to look for ways to improve her business and the apprenticeship and
mentoring programmes.
Congratulations Rachel!
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