Accelerate Training Academy Success at Babington!

One of the many ways we have committed to excellence and development for our employees is the Accelerate Training Academy. Since its launch, it has proven to be a success.

Delegates who have participated can develop within their roles by gaining qualifications in a Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) or a Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training (CET), seeing a real benefit in their day-to-day practices in operational delivery roles.

Natalie Gregory, the course tutor had this to say about the progress so far.

“I am really proud of all the colleagues that have so far achieved a recognised qualification through our Accelerate programme. This is a testament to the commitment and dedication of the staff at Babington and because of the investment that Babington makes in its people. The programme provides valuable training and development to support colleagues’ professional growth and career aspirations.”

Simeon Powell, a recent successful participant in the academy, had this to say,

“I have a huge passion for Learning and Development delivering soft skills, management training and conducting a training needs analysis.”

What encouraged you to be part of the Accelerate Training Academy and why did you think this would be beneficial for you and your learners?

“I enjoy learning and I was keen to take part in anything that would help me become a better trainer and understand the field better. In addition, it’s a short course, only 12 weeks long of really impactful learning. As a Skills Coach, it will help me tailor sessions to meet individual learning needs but as a trainer, the benefits have been huge – specifically enhancing my understanding of the impact of sessions before, during, and after learning has taken place.”

What have you learnt from the programme and what qualifications have you received?

“The two biggest things I have taken away from the sessions is applying differentiation, which is delivering a learning point in diverse ways to suit all learning preferences. In order for learning to be effective, it really needs a diverse delivery method to really cement the learning, this was a game-changer for me.

The other aspect I took from the programme was getting learners to teach each other and self-assess, which really helps cement the learning in their minds once they can articulate what they know to someone else.”

How did you find being part of the Accelerate Training Academy? What elements did you most enjoy?

“It was hard sometimes to fit this programme into an already busy schedule, but certainly worthwhile, and Natalie has been a great support and very patient with us. And the part I enjoyed most was listening to other people on the course share their experiences and ideas so I can take in as much as possible and chip in where needed. I always looked forward to seeing what I could learn that could shift my perspective as a trainer.”

What would you like to do next?

“I’d love to go onto CIPD Level 5 Learning and Development and Certificate in Education and Training (CET) Level 4, just to keep pushing myself to be better should the opportunity arise!”

How have things improved for you since being part of the Accelerate Training Academy?

“I think more purposefully about my sessions as a trainer now – I really want to have as much clarity as to why we do certain tasks with learners and the objective we are trying to achieve. It opens up the opportunity for us to change and improve – what is most rewarding is when we tweak a session, and it comes out better than expected and the learners are more engaged as a result.”

How have things improved for your learners?

“I get my learners to put what they learn into practice as soon as possible and reflect during the sessions, not just after. This has helped them to enhance that learning cycle and the feedback has been awesome.”

What benefits have you found in yourself, your confidence and your skillset?

“It’s given me more confidence in my craft and the qualification has given credibility to know I have the knowledge as well as the skill to serve our learners better.”

Since joining Babington as a Skills Coach, you have been promoted into a secondment role as a Specialist Trainer, how has this impacted you?

“It’s been a huge pleasure to go from Skills Coach to Specialist Trainer in such a short space of time – I am grateful to have done both roles and within a year doing the role I am of most value to Babington in. I loved the interaction with learners as a Skills Coach and now I get to do more of that as a Specialist Trainer on a subject I love, the learners are brilliant too. As technology and the programme develop.”