Elizabeth Nixon and Kelly Smith joined 16 PTP apprentices and a total of 72 graduates at the event at The County Showground, Stafford on June 7.
The special awards for Kelly and Elizabeth were presented by Kevin Davis, chairman of the Ladder Apprenticeship Foundation, to recognise their “outstanding performance”.
Elizabeth was an apprentice with PTP and now works with the Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust in Burton upon Trent.
She won the South award for how she achieved her team leader Level 3 apprenticeship.
Mr Davis said: “Elizabeth completed her apprenticeship during a very challenging time when her team was going through restructures within the business.
Customer service
“Working from home, and isolating, meant that Elizabeth was often fire-fighting to provide the service her customers needed.
“Through this challenging time, her line manager left and despite all of the work pressures and juggling three children her confidence soared and, in recognition, she was promoted to quality and performance lead.”
Kelly was an apprentice with Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group and is now the quality, safety and compliance secretary at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke on Trent.
She won the award for the north of the county for how she achieved her Senior Healthcare Support Worker Level 3 apprenticeship.
Mr Davis said: “Personal circumstances meant Kelly missed lots of school and as a result left without any qualifications.
“She started her career in the care sector, finding this to be very rewarding, then moved to a large organisation where after 15 years she attended evening classes to develop maths and English skills.
“This was the first time Kelly had been back in the classroom since school, and she found the courses both challenging and rewarding, and was very supportive to others in their group.
Learning champion
“Eventually she achieved her certificate, which was something she had dreamt of, and she is a champion of learning, encouraging others to have a go and never giving up.”
Kelly said: “Being here today has made the not-so-nice days all worthwhile, those days when you could easily give up or ‘I’m not good enough’ days.
“But you must never give up, never feel that you are worthless. Believe in yourself and anything is possible.”
Rob Colbourne, chief executive of PTP Training, which trades as Performance Through People and is part of the BCTG Group, is an experienced provider of training for employers across the region.
He said: “We’re very proud of all the graduates, especially Kelly and Elizabeth who have both shown how much the apprenticeship programmes have developed their work and lives.”
The full list of PTP apprentice graduates:
Iram Nawaz, Asquith House Dental Practice, Dentistry
Katie Poole, A F Blakemore & Son Limited – Willenhall, Customer Service
Christina Naughton, Salisbury Primary School (Walsall Council), Early Years Care
Madihah Islam, Salisbury Primary School (Walsall Council), Early Years Care
Kathryn Grace Hawley, Royal Stoke University Hospital, Management
Elizabeth Nixon, MPFT Burton on Trent, Management
Catharine Stocking, The Housing Plus Group, Admin
Stephanie Harding, Walsall Council, Admin
Connie Sharp, MPFT, The Bridge Staffs, Management
Kiran Bibi, Walsall Council, Admin
Chante Baker, The Malted Waffle Company, Customer Service
Milginta Macaite, Dawley Dental Practice, Dentistry
Ben Smith, Lodge Tyre Company Ltd – Stafford, Admin
Gemma Counsell, Lodge Tyre Company Ltd – Stafford, Management
Peter Counsell, Lodge Tyre Company Ltd – Stafford, Admin
Samantha Shaw, MPFT, The Bridge Staffs, Management.
