SPRINGBOARD HARTLEPOOL

Issue 11
DEC
2014

learners shine at
gem awards 2014
Once again Springboard staff,
employers, learners and
trustees assembled at the
Best Western Roker Hotel,
Sunderland for an evening of
prize-giving to those who
had Gone the Extra Mile
during the past year.
All of the Springboard centres
across the region were well
represented, for a lovely evening to
celebrate all that is great and good
about this training provider.
Trust Secretary, Denise Wilson
commenced proceedings by giving
an overview of 2014. She declared
it was the best year ever for
achievements, before handing the
mic over to host Colin Wilson and
the special guest invited to present
the awards, former Sunderland AFC
FA Cup Winner 1973, Dick Malone.

Categories up for grabs included

Employer of the Year, Study
Programme Learner of The Year,
Tutor of the Year, Skills for Life

STORY INSIDE..
Read about how our
partnership, with a very
forward thinking company in
Hartlepol, is giving Danielle a
chance to get a qualification
and a job which she never
thought possible. Page 4

Learner of the Year and

Apprentices of the Year in many
different vocational areas
including Design and Print,
Horticulture, Business Admin,
Childcare, Retail, Care, Teaching
and Warehousing.
Denise Wilson said; Well done
to all our winners and nominees
who thoroughly deserved an
opportunity to shine in the
spotlight, and have their hard
work and achievements
recognised.
more about this inside

2014 Review
We are proud to say that Springboard has grown into a
large and vibrant organisation with excellent premises
and facilities across the North East in Sunderland, East
Durham, Hartlepool and South Tyneside. We organise
training and volunteering opportunities for people of all
age groups, and we work closely with local employers
to provide work experience, apprenticeships and job
opportunities for all our learners.
2014 has been a successful year for Springboard in many
ways. We are helping more young people and adults than
ever before and our success rates have improved overall. This
year has been even more significant as on the 31st July 2014
Springboard became completely independent and withdrew
from the CSV group after many years. This independence will
ensure that Springboard continues to offer quality
opportunities for people to develop their personal and
vocational skills to support the growth of sustainable
communities.

1390
the number of young people and
adults that Springboard have
worked with in the past year.

78
the percentage of our overall
achievements in apprenticeships
which is 3% up on last year

You can apply for any

of our programmes
now online
www.springboard-ne.org.uk

Next year will be Springboards 40th birthday - watch

out for special events to celebrate! We aim to make
2015 Springboards best year ever!

Springboard has won Training Provider of the

Year in the recent Sunderland Echo Portfolio
2014 Business Awards.
The award, sponsored by Northumbrian Water, was
presented to Springboard in recognition for its work
in not only delivering training, but also providing an
exceptional journey for individuals, boosting
education, confidence and social skills of people in
the community.
The judges were looking for organisations that have
made significant contributions to enhance the skill
levels of other businesses. They described
Springboard as 'going above and beyond in this
accolade.
The awards ceremony was held at The Sunderland
Stadium of Light which saw the business community
across Wearside, South Tyneside and East Durham
gather to celebrate the achievements and growth of
business in the region.

Springboard Trust Secretary Denise Wilson (bottom left) collects the award on
behalf of the company

Denise Wilson, Springboard Trust Secretary, said:

We are very pleased to receive this award. This
is really good news for all of the staff at
Springboard as well the learners and employers
that we work with.

WINNERS GALLERY

from front page

Our Hartlepool centre did very well at the GEM Awards this year.
With some of our learners taking the top honours despite stiff
competition from other centres across the North East. Here are just
some of our worthy winners.

Apprentice of the Year

Horticulture
Wayne McKenna

The nominees for all of the categories had made great achievements
during the past year. Some had proved to be outstanding apprentices and
employees. Some had achieved way above their expectations and some
overcame personal difficulties which made their journey all the more
remarkable. All of the learners gave our award panel very difficult decisions
to make. We must also say thank you to the employers who have given
their full support to the learners on their apprenticeship journey.

Wayne, a Greenkeeper at
Billingham Golf Club was
nominated by his
Springboard Tutor /
Assessor. Wayne has had
an outstanding attitude
to his Horticulture
Apprenticeship in 2014.

Apprentice of the Year

DESIGN & PRINT LIAM DEFTY
Hartlepool Apprentice Liam
deserved his win against heavy
opposition this year.
Liam had a great attitude to his
apprenticeship from the
beginning and consistently
delivered a very high standard
of work. He was also very shy
when he began his job role
with Tower Design, but his
confidence grew so much that
he now flourishes on his uni
course.

HARTLEPOOL LEARNER OF THE YEAR TERRI CHAPMAN

highly commended ARIANNE SIMMONS
There was strong competition in the
Hartlepool Learner of the Year award this
year. Terri Chapman (above) was
nominated by her Tutor/Assessor who felt
strongly that Terri had excelled in every
area of her apprenticeship programme
and has delighted her employers at
Footprints Nursery in Hartlepool.
Highly Commended in this category was
Arianne Simmons (right), who has been
an exceptional apprentice on the design
and print programme at Tower Design
this year.

Employers
Embracing
Apprenticeships
With Pride
It is well recognised by many employers that
vocational training and apprenticeships in the
workplace develop a motivated, skilled and
qualified workforce.
Businesses that offer Apprenticeships think
that they can help with their long-term
development and productivity, and according
to the British Chambers of Commerce,
businesses usually employ an apprentice to
improve the skills available within their
organisation.
One company in Hartlepool who knows this to be
true is View Logistics. The company who supply
telephone sales, accounts, stock control,
warehousing, transport and logistical services to
the flooring sector have fully embraced the workbased-learning model and have been working in
partnership with Springboard for a number of
years.

96%

of employers
that take on an
apprentice report
benefits to their
business.

The company has always supported young people

by giving them opportunities and experience
through work placements and employed
apprenticeships.

Carol Clayton Sales Manager (far right) with some of her Springboard
apprentices. Aimee, Matthew, Josie and Danielle

Championing this is Carol Clayton who manages

the Sales Team at View Logistics. She is passionate
about giving young people a break, and claims
that the majority of young people she has
nurtured through the programme have developed
into dedicated
employees of
the business.
Carol, who can
quickly spot
potential in
new staff said;
I have a
young team here at View Logistics but I
firmly believe that they are the very best. It
is a very demanding role and the staff are
expected to work hard to ensure that we can
deliver and fulfill all of the orders.
The company have regularly taken on apprentices

Apprentice of the Year

Business Admin & Customer ServiceT
Josie Barber
Josie Barber employed by View Logistics
became Springboards Business Admin &
Customer Service Apprentices of the Year due
to her fantastic work ethic and approach to
her job and apprenticeship.

and learners from Springboard Hartlepools Study

Programme. Some of these young people may
have been unsure of a career direction or may
not have not done as well in their exams as they
hoped to. Some suffer from a lack of confidence
and find it hard to make that first step into the
workplace. Through a part-time work programme
they are shown the ropes and allocated tasks to
see how they fare in this challenging
environment. Impressing Carol is key to securing
a job opportunity with View Logistics, and two
such learners doing just that are Matthew Bown
and Danielle Harrison, 17 who have progressed
onto the Apprenticeship programme.
Danielle said; I am really enjoying my job at
View Logistics and I love working in this team. I
am only just starting out but I can not wait to
learn more.
Andrea Whincop is the Springboard Tutor and

Her Manager Carol Clayton has been so

impressed with Josies progress in her sales
team that she endorsed her nomination for
the award.

Assessor assigned to the View Logistics apprentices.

She said: View Logistics are very supportive of
both the apprentices and us as a training provider.
Apprentices are encouraged with their
qualification which creates an atmosphere where
the apprentices make strides in their Diploma
work, as Josie and other learners have shown. We
hope this partnership can continue for a long time
to come.

We are always looking for work

placements in all kinds of
vocational areas?
Call 01429 287075 for more info

Springboard
into Higher
Education
Our 2014 achievers from the Springboard
Hartlepool design and print programme started
the next chapter of their education, as they
began their university courses this Autumn.
Curtis Taylor 18, Nathan Malone 18, Jack Milburn 18
and Liam Defty 19 achieved their Advanced
Apprenticeship in Digital Artwork for Print this year
and were all accepted onto Higher Education
courses on completion of their qualifications
delivered by Springboard Hartlepool.
Curtis and Nathan are studying a Foundation Degree
at Hartlepool College of Further Education through
Teesside University. Jack is studying BA in Graphic
Design at Teesside University and Liam is studying at
Newcastle College. All four were employed at the
Tower Design studio in Hartlepool where they
worked on real client products and learned the
essential skills, techniques and software needed for
them to succeed in this competitive field. Their
impressive portfolios earned them high praise from
the universities and colleges to whom they applied
during the application process.
Their tutor at Springboard Hartlepool, Helen Smith
said; "These four have been a real asset to the
business and have taken an unconventional
route into Higher Education. Their knowledge
and experience and portfolios have made them
stand out at interview, and their working
experience will also give them a head start
once they complete their degrees, and start to
look for work in the industry".

Were always on the

lookout for creative
talent in our design team.

The girls can

do it too!
More recently, successful achievements from the
studio have seen a fantastic trio of girls achieve
their advanced apprenticeships and leave us to
make their mark upon the world.
All three girls from Hartlepool have made a massive
contribution to the success of the Tower Design
studio whilst working towards their qualification.
Mollie Macdonald 17 achieved in October and is
currently undertaking A Level courses at Hartlepool
Sixth Form College in preparation for university life.
Megan Lazenby 18, left us in November and having
secured herself a part time job is in process of
completing her UCAS application for higher education
too. Arianne Simmons 19, meanwhile has achieved
the magnificent feat of securing a full time job with
Altered Images, a Hartlepool based company who
provide printed and embroidered clothing. Her job
will be to create new designs and help to promote
the brands through social media. Well done girls!

If you have A-Cs in English Maths and can show

your artistic ability then this could be the job for
you, working towards an advanced
apprenticeship in design and print.
Vacancies are advertised on
www.apprenticeships.org but you can
contact helen for more information on
infotowerdesign@gmail.com

Meg

Mollie

Arianne

SPRINGBOARD

Successful WORKS
Outcomes for
Mature Learners
Springboard Works is a specialist
programme for people aged 19-24 and 25+
who are not in employment, education or
training, to gain qualifications and work
experience in order to move closer to the
job market.
Springboard provides training and support in many
different vocational areas across the North East.
At Hartlepool learners are given training and
support in Maths, English and ICT.
One of our success stories is Stephen Stones
who recently achieved his Functional ICT Entry 3.
Stephen has come a long way since he first
embraced the training programme and has gained
so much more confidence. He has even bought
his first android phone, as he can now use it to
access the internet and emails.

You can apply for any

of our programmes
now online
www.springboard-ne.org.uk

Another one of our superstar works programme

learners is Angela Rider. She recently passed
Functional ICT and also completed a short
English course. Her confidence has developed so
much that she has recently begun an NVQ in
Customer Retail with the British Heart Foundation.
She said; I couldn't have done it without the
support of the Springboard staff.
Other achievements have included :Mario Woodward passed Functional ICT Entry 3
and is currently working towards Entry 3
Functional English
Robert Wilson Functional ICT Entry 3
Vera Wallace Functional ICT Entry 3
Lesley Pilmor Functional ICT Entry currently
working to Level 1 Functional English, and has
just passed the reading section.

Roll of Honor
Some other notable
achievements in Skills for
Life classes included
Bethany Hanlon
Level 2 Functional English
Level 2 Functional Maths
Shanice Broom
Level 2 Functional English
Level 2 Functional Maths
Callum Twidale
Level 1 Functional English
Level 1 Functional Maths
Kirsty Reed
Level 1 Functional English
Level 1 Functional Maths
Josh Watson
Level 1 Functional English
Level 1 Functional Maths

Springboard learners and staff braved the ice-cold waters of the

North Sea to help raise money for BBC Children in Need.
Despite the absolutely horrendous weather conditions, more than
50 people turned up at Roker beach in Sunderland to take part in
the Splash for Cash sponsored dip.
Dressed in all manner of fancy dress outfits they plunged into the
sea raising over five hundred pounds for the appeal.
Well done to everyone who took part and to those who
organized it. Even those who werent brave enough to go in the
sea, the torrential rain made sure they got a good soaking too!

The Tower Design

creative team can
take care of all of your
design and print needs.
We provide a professional
service at sensible prices.

13 Tower Street
Hartlepool
TS24 7HH
01429 287075
infotowerdesign@gmail.com

Follow us @TowerDesign77

Like us on Facebook TowerDesignHartlepool

You can apply for any

of our programmes
now online
www.springboard-ne.org.uk

You can find out more by

following Springboard
Hartlepool on the web
Facebook and Twitter
Web www.springboard-ne.org.uk
Find us at www.facebook.com
/SpringboardHartlepool
or follow us on Twitter @SpringboardHart

01429 287075
or email info@springboard-ne.org
13 Tower Street,
Hartlepool TS24 7HH

Mole Catchers Cottage is our award winning cosy cottage with a contemporary
twist. It is situated in the heart of the secret North Pennines, in the village of
Allenheads. Beamed throughout, the cottage has one double and one twin
bedroom, a living room with wood burning stove and a charming modern
kitchen and bathroom.
It is available to let throughout the year for more information visit
www.molecatcherscottage.co.uk or contact Sarah on 0191 5640291
sbrewis@springboard-ne.org

This newsletter was produced by Tower Design@Springboard Hartlepool. Tel: 01429 287075 email: hsmith@springboard-ne.org / infotowerdesign@gmail.com