Helen named Outstanding Achiever of the Year
Helen Brickley with the award for Jobs Growth Wales Outstanding Achiever of the Year.
A young woman from Pontllanfraith, who was given her break in the fashion industry thanks to the Welsh Government’s Jobs Growth Wales programme, has been named Outstanding Achiever of the Year.
Helen Brickley, 24, collected the award at the high profile Apprenticeship Awards Cymru 2014. ceremony held at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport on Friday (October 31).
“I wasn’t expecting to win the award and to have won it is beyond belief,” she said after the award ceremony. “It’s fantastic and such an opportunity for me. It means that I can go onwards and upwards in my career.”
The awards 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 Jobs Growth Wales Programme is funded by the Welsh Government with support from the European Social Fund.
Helen turned to Jobs Growth Wales after finding it difficult to get her foot on the careers ladder despite her degree in textiles.
Welsh fashion shop chain Goose Island, through learning provider Talk Training Ltd, took on Helen in October 2013 as a fashion administrator with responsibilities for tracking online sales and updating the website.
A year on, she is a full time employee working towards an NVQ in Business Administration Level 3 and completes a daily 80-mile round trip to work from her home to Swansea.
Grateful for the Jobs Growth Wales opportunity, she has taken the company’s online sales from an average £150 a month to £7,000 and is now part of buying trips to London and Italy for the online and stores’ fashion lines.
“The Jobs Growth Wales opportunity has given me the chance to broaden my skills from administration and invoicing to expressing my passion for fashion, meeting with buyers and applying my design knowledge to the job,” she said.
Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, Julie James said: “Jobs Growth Wales allows young people to use the vocational skills they have developed and has given Helen the opportunity to use her skills and qualifications that in turn has helped the business to grow. These awards are a chance for us to recognise the wealth of talent we have in Wales.”
More than 400 key stakeholders from the vocational education and training sector across Wales attended the awards ceremony, where guests dined out with chefs from the Culinary Team Wales.
More News Articles
« Dream career leads to a national learning award for Nicole — Memorable Halloween for high flying Airbus UK engineer at awards ceremony »
