47-year-old Georgina joined YMCA Training Northampton whilst she was working as a nursery assistant at her local primary school. Her employer proactively encouraged Georgina to further her training and become a fully qualified childcare practitioner.

Georgina was very nervous when she first signed up to the children's care learning and development programme as she hadn't taken part in any academic-type work since leaving school. The prospect of an Advanced Apprenticeship was very daunting.

Nevertheless, Georgina embraced the opportunity, and as she progressed through the different stages, she grew in confidence and became more and more comfortable in sharing her own knowledge and experience.

Despite having her husband and family to look after, Georgina also cared for her terminally ill mother, and remained committed throughout her qualification even when her mother sadly passed away.

Georgina is now a fully qualified level 3 practitioner and aids the nursery teacher in planning and observation. She has a caring and patient nature with the children and they respond to her with warmth and affection.

 

Paul, 22, joined YMCA Training Northampton so he could achieve his Apprenticeship in health and social care.

Paul had completed his GCSEs at school and had gone straight into care work which he loved. On meeting him, Paul's training adviser realised that he was very nervous and lacked confidence, masking this through being funny and larking around.

As his Apprenticeship progressed, Paul changed from a quiet, nervous individual lacking in confidence, to a mature confident young man who worked very hard on the assignments given.

Partway through his apprenticeship, Paul's parents separated which had a huge impact on him. However, he remained strong and grew and grew and completed his Apprenticeship ahead of target.

Paul has become an accepted member of staff within his workplace and is shown respect and listened to by his colleagues. He is able to voice his thoughts with confidence and is a valued member of staff at the forefront rather than hiding in the shadows.

 

Kaine, 18 first joined YMCA Training Great Yarmouth on its foundation learning (FL) course which he really enjoyed and excelled in.

After the FL programme, Kaine progressed onto a customer service Apprenticeship, which he later changed to a retail Apprenticeship.

Kaine experienced many family problems whilst on his Apprenticeship, and eventually took the brave decision to leave his family home and take up residence in a YMCA hostel.  

During this difficult time, Kaine remained dedicated to his Apprenticeship, attending his work placement every day and delivering excellent customer service to those customers he served on the till, and also to his fellow colleagues. 

Kaine was always cheerful and had a smile for everyone despite his own problems - his timekeeping was excellent and he completed the work set for his qualification on time and to a high standard.

Kaine passed his exams and sailed through meeting his deadline, despite the change in his Apprenticeship and work placement, as well as having to cope with living alone on an extremely low income.

Kaine has now moved to supported accommodation and has his own flat. Having completed his Apprenticeship, he is now hoping to pursue a career in retail.

 

24-year-old Samantha first joined YMCA Training Lowestoft in January 2008 having been referred by the Suffolk Childcare Learning Unit to complete her Apprenticeship in children's care, learning and development.

Samantha first developed a drive and passion to work in childcare after spending time volunteering in a primary school in Fiji where she taught English and learnt about the local community and culture. On returning to the UK, Samantha applied to the Dragon's nursery where she was accepted for a position in the two-three year olds room and was referred to YMCA Training.

After completing her Apprenticeship with YMCA Training in nine months, Samantha then progressed onto the Advanced Apprenticeship programme.  After two-and-half years' of hard work and dedication with YMCA Training, she achieved her full Level 3 Apprenticeship in July 2010 and has now just started a Foundation Degree at UCS Lowestoft.

Mary Dicker, training adviser at YMCA Training Lowestoft, said: "Samantha is a fantastic student - she has a glowing personality and a passionate drive to forge a strong career in childcare."

Speaking of her achievements, Samantha said: "During my time with YMCA Training I have gained confidence and skills that I never imagined possible. My qualifications and experience means I am now able to progress to a Foundation Degree in Early Years Practice."

 

Rebecca, 17, first arrived at YMCA Training in July 2009 to complete an Apprenticeship in children's care, learning and development.

Rebecca has a physical disability known as Ehlers-Danlos Hyper Mobility Type, a tissue disorder affecting mobility and causing great pain.

Due to her illness, Rebecca was only attending school 40% of the time and was receiving multi-agency support from paediatricians and physiotherapists. YMCA Training was invited to attend a care meeting at Rebecca's school to discuss options for her future, kick-starting Rebecca's transition to her Apprenticeship.

Despite the barriers she faced, Rebecca completed her Apprenticeship in eleven months even though she could only attend the programme on a part-time basis. She often worked on written work and assessment in her own time, and achieved a staggering 98% attendance rate.

Rebecca's future in childcare looks bright - she has now started her Advanced Apprenticeship in children's care, learning and development and has gained part-time employment at the Jigsaw Day Nursery.

Karen Roberts, manager at YMCA Training Chester, said: "Rebecca's story proves that if a young person wants to succeed, they will overcome any obstacle put in their way. She is truly an inspiration to her and to others."

Rebecca said: "Because of my disability I am unable to work full-time but YMCA Training was really flexible in allowing me to complete my course on a part-time basis. As long as I can remember I have always wanted to work with children - I really enjoy working and caring for them

 

16-year-old Ellen joined YMCA Training Leeds on our entry to employment programme in January 2010.

She had attended the local high school where she developed behavioural issues, including arguing with teachers and fighting.  All of this had a huge effect on Ellen's GCSE results which were not as good as she had hoped for. When she came for interview at YMCA Training she said that she wanted help to get a job in childcare and hopefully some qualifications.  She had not done any work experience whilst at school so it was agreed that this would be a good place to start.  She was very nervous about the interview and was not even sure if she would be good at working with children or not as she had issues with keeping her temper whilst at school.  She managed to secure a nursery placement at Cherubs Kindergarten which was for four weeks' work experience. Within the first week of her placement, she knew that it was what she really wanted to do.  She was included by the placement in everything and they treated her like an adult and she thrived.  At the end of her four weeks the nursery said Ellen was 'best learner they had ever had' and that they were going to employ her as an Apprentice and she began on YMCA Training's Children's Care, Learning and Development Apprenticeship programme.

Ellen said: "I had always wanted to work with children but due to things not going so well at school, I thought I would never be able to do it.  Now that I have got an Apprenticeship and am proving myself, I feel very proud
of my achievements."

 

Natasha, 19, left school with some qualifications but did not enjoy academic work, preferring practical work which was "people orientated."

After spending some time working with children in a child's play area, Natasha applied to work as a volunteer at a care home, hoping to follow in her grandmother's steps of caring for the elderly.  Due to being 17 at the time, Natasha could not be legally employed to provide "hands on" care, so she stayed in her volunteer role for nearly a year, working four days a week and building her skills and knowledge.   When she had turned 18 she successfully applied for a paid position and enrolled on a health and social care Apprenticeship with YMCA Training Great Yarmouth which she completed in just under a year.

With her sights set on a senior care position, Natasha has now started work on her Advanced Apprenticeship - staff at the care home say she "has the potential to be a first class senior member of staff."

 

18-year-old Jade first joined YMCA Training in Northampton on a CCLD Apprenticeship in 2008.

Jade enjoyed school and achieved eight GCSEs at A and B grades but instead of progressing to further education, Jade decided she wanted to get pursue her dream of working with children.

Jade completed her Apprenticeship and, recognising her talent, her placement nursery worked with staff at YMCA Training to offer her the opportunity to progress to an Advanced Apprenticeship.

Jade always made the most of any opportunities to further her professional development in childcare and, having completed her Advanced Apprenticeship, she is now employed full-time within a nursery and is studying for a foundation degree in children's services.

 

Emily joined YMCA Training Eastbourne on our Child Care, Learning and Development Apprenticeship Programme in November 2009.

Due to an accident she was involved in when she was a small child, Emily has additional needs and her day to day life holds many challenges.

During her first week at YMCA Training, she was introduced to Sarah Potter, a training adviser who would be working with her on a one to one basis both at  her work placement and at the YMCA Training Eastbourne centre. The first assessment was used as a getting to know each other session, and for Sarah to gauge Emily's abilities and how she could support her.

Emily worked as a nursery assistant at Birkdale Nursery. She never failed to meet targets that were set, her attendance was faultless, and her written work was outstanding. Due to all her hard work and determination, Emily achieved her NVQ Level 2 in Child Care, Learning and Development well before her due date of November and Sarah nominated her for an award in 2010.

At the Eastbourne awards presentation evening, Emily won the Award for Effort which was presented by Eastbourne's MP, Stephen Lloyd. She was presented with a lovely glass plaque which Stephen Lloyd accidently dropped. The heart-stopping moment was saved when Stephen Lloyd, as a way of apology, invited Emily to the Houses of Parliament for afternoon tea. Her plaque was replaced and she had her trip to London and spent an extremely enjoyable afternoon with Stephen, MP in the Houses of Parliament on 24^th January 2011.

Emily, said "I have much more confidence and self esteem. I am now able to mentor and support others and enjoy working as a volunteer at Pebsham Community Primary School."