National Apprenticeship Week 2016 was a huge success for Aspire Training Team; apprenticeship and training provider forming part of Hadland Care Group. This year’s theme was ‘Rising to the Top’, which supported the celebrations of Training Team Director of Aspire, Kelly Russell, who has risen from starting as a childcare apprentice in 1996 to now celebrating her 20th anniversary as a Director.
Kelly started her apprentice career at Tops Day Nurseries in the first nursery in Parkstone in 1996; one of the first apprentices to work for the company. It was here that Kelly completed her Apprenticeship Frameworks in Early Years Levels 2 and 3 and then went on to heavily support with the opening of Tops Wareham in 2000, becoming Supervisor for the 2-3 year olds and then Deputy Manager.
In 2002, Kelly completed her assessor’s qualification and moved to the Training Team and became the Key Assessor for Wareham. Kelly remained here until 2006 after returning from maternity in 2003 and went on to be promoted to Training Manager, and only one year later to Training Director in September 2007. Since that time, she has achieved her qualification in Learning and Development and Level 7 in Management.
“The company has always been like an extended family to me, I myself have grown with the company,” Kelly comments. “I love watching new apprentices achieve their dreams and qualifications, with some being promoted up through the company to senior roles, just like I did.”
Aspire Training Team are proud to have had almost 60% of their staff achieve long service status, with at least 5 years working for the company. There are many more members of the Hadland Care Group team who started as an apprentice and now hold senior and managerial positions through the company.
To find out more details about becoming or hiring an apprentice you can visit the Aspire Training Team website, or visit our Careers section.
