Digital marketing business shortlisted for national apprenticeship award
Tree Frog Creative director Christopher Grice with apprentices Connor Todd and Beth Hearn.
A husband and wife run website design business that also offers a wide range of digital marketing solutions has been shortlisted for a prestigious national apprenticeship award.
Tree Frog Creative based in Saltney, Flintshire is a finalist in the Small Employer of the Year category at the Apprenticeship Awards Cymru 2014 and will be attending a high profile awards ceremony at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport on Friday, October 31.
The awards, divided into 13 categories, are organised jointly by the Welsh Government and the National Training Federation for Wales (NTfW).
Showcasing excellence in skills development in Wales by learners, employers and learning providers, the awards are sponsored by Pearson PLC with support from media partner, Media Wales.
The awards recognise employers who commit to developing their workforce through apprenticeships and other work-based learning programmes, which support employees during their training. They are also a great way to evaluate training and development, as well as a fantastic motivational factor for any workforce or learner.
The Apprenticeship Programme in Wales is funded by the Welsh Government with support from the European Social Fund.
Tree Frog Creative was set up in December, 2011 by Christopher and Karen Grice to help their customers grow through online business but with an ethical approach that impacts positively on both the organisations they work with and local communities.
Christopher’s passion for training stems from his own background as a teenage web junior, where he truly understood the merit of work-based learning in a constantly evolving industry.
Working closely with Coleg Cambria, he encourages the company’s two apprentices and a Jobs Growth Wales employee to develop skills through formal training and qualifications and innovative on-going tutoring and self-driven development.
“We only take on apprentices if we have identified a career progression beyond their placement,” he said. “Our plan is to bring in further apprentices to work under our current young team.”
Tree Frog Creative lives up to its name with innovative internal training that includes team development sessions (pizza meetings!), group mentor sessions, three-monthly appraisals, working within the community and encouraging apprentices to organise staff social events. .
Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, Julie James said: “Apprenticeships are one of the most practical and cost effective ways for a business to build a skilled workforce. An apprentice can learn the skills an employer needs to keep pace with developments in their industry and deliver the service customers demand.
“I am delighted that companies like Tree Frog Creative share the Welsh Government’s commitment to vocational training.”
More than 300 key stakeholders from the vocational education and training sector across Wales are expected to attend the high profile awards ceremony, where guests will dine out with chefs from the Welsh National Culinary Team.
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