Laura Riley, who undertook a Digital Learning Practitioners apprenticeship with the training provider, recently received the Jisc Digital Student Award for Positively Embracing Education Technology.

The title is a huge achievement for Laura, who originally signed up for her qualification when she was given the role of digital support for the school that she works in.

At the time, Laura’s digital skills were very low and she was keen to make improvements so she could better support her students with digital technology.

Laura has been described as a ā€˜lovelyā€™ and ā€˜dedicatedā€™ member of staff, working as a teaching assistant in the pupil referral unit of Bridge Achievement Centre for the past 12 years.

ā€œThe place would fall apart without her,ā€ says Centre Manager Amanda Veater.

ā€œLaura develops excellent relationships with pupils and her colleagues and is a popular member of staff. Laura is incredibly organised and very good at managing her time. Weā€™re all very proud of her achievements.ā€

Ā鶹ֱ²„ā€™s Digital Learning Practitioner Assessor, Jolene Plant, added: ā€œAt the beginning of her course, Laura’s confidence in general was low but carrying out the qualification and being able to interact with other learners gave Laura a massive boost.

ā€œIt was amazing to see how her confidence grew over the 18 months that she was on programme.ā€

The Digital Learning Practitioners apprenticeship is aimed at anyone in a teaching or training role. It covers many key aspects of learning using digital technology and explores a range of different application software packages and new technologies to better equip education professionals with the ever-changing landscape they are working in.

You can learn more about the qualification by watching learner Donnaā€™s story in the video below.

Find more details on the course here.

Businesses have been getting social during National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) 2023 at an event held to highlight the benefits of investing in Digital Marketing, as the number of learners applying for digital marketing apprenticeships in Wales continues to rise.

An experienced Digital and Social Media professional with over 20 years’ experience, the respected digital marketeer was also the editorial figurehead for the BBC Content Social (TV & iPlayer) division, leading the development and execution of BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC Comedy, BBC iPlayer and BBC Masterbrandā€™s social media strategies.

At the event, he highlighted the business benefits of investing in Digital Marketing, and helped businesses and learners gathered to think about their digital work and needs, and how they can grow in this area.

Mr Williams, now Managing Director at social media marketing specialist Siml, told those gathered: ā€œThe ā€˜Holy Trinityā€™ of creating social media content that engages and inspires people is best defined as giving your followers information, helping to give them a better sense of identity and evoking an emotional reaction in them when they see what you are posting.ā€

We are talking about globally borderless platforms where the potential reach for your personal or professional brand is absolutely massive, and where being accessible and engaging in the communities relevant to what you do, and in the conversations those groups of people are having, really can result in significant successes in business terms.

As Walesā€™ leading provider of apprenticeships, Ā鶹ֱ²„ has seen a consistent uplift in the number of fully-funded digital courses it is now working to deliver across Wales in recent years.

The number of tutors recruited to its Digital Services Team has also expanded four-fold within that time, and now offers qualifications in Digital Marketing, Digital Learning Practitioners, Social Media for Business and Digital Application Support.

Richard Spear, Managing Director at Ā鶹ֱ²„, ā€œWe are absolutely over the moon to have secured such a high-profile, well respected digital marketeer to come and talk to our guests, and canā€™t thank Owen enough for his time.ā€

Richard said ā€œOwen highlighted the importance of social media in reaching new customers. Unfortunately, many businesses do not have the skills to use this key tool effectively and are therefore missing out on growth.

ā€œThatā€™s why we are using National Apprenticeship Week to highlight the amazing opportunities available through the Welsh Governmentā€™s apprenticeship programme. Our digital marketing apprenticeship, for example, has helped learners embark on an exciting new career and supported businesses to achieve their potentialā€

ā€œAs well as our fantastic Digital Services programmes we have a huge range of apprenticeship opportunities and would encourage employers to get in touch to find out how to take advantage of these highly-effective fully-funded training programmesā€ Richard added.

For more information on our apprenticeship programme or digital qualifications, visit

Angelina, 28, who works for training provider Ā鶹ֱ²„ in Cardiff, pioneered the delivery of the Digital Learning Design Apprenticeship Framework in Wales.

Lucy Wilkinson, Ā鶹ֱ²„ā€™s digital services route manager, explained: ā€œAngelina navigated the delivery of this qualification independently as, at the time, she was the only assessor for this qualification in Wales. Her drive and commitment to her continuous professional development within the digital industries is exceptional.ā€

Last night, Angelina was named Work-based Learning Practitioner of the Year at the prestigious Apprenticeship Awards Cymru 2022. The awards highlight the outstanding achievements, during unprecedented times, of employers, apprentices and work-based learning practitioners.

A former secondary school teacher of modern foreign languages, Angelina joined Ā鶹ֱ²„ as a trainee assessor in 2018 as she was looking for a new career challenge and wanted to help others become tech savvy.

To ensure that she fully understands her learnersā€™ journey, she has herself completed the apprenticeships that she delivers as well as learning Welsh so that she can deliver bilingually too.

Angelina, who lives in Cardiff and is originally from The Netherlands, has been so successful at learning the language that she won the Work Welsh Learner of the Year Award (intermediate) from the National Centre for Learning Welsh. She is fluent in five languages.

Learners and employers love her and she is her teamā€™s top performer – 90% of her learners complete their qualification and she achieves an 88% employer engagement rating.

She also supports and oversees digital services route learners at Ā鶹ֱ²„ and is constantly upskilling herself to keep pace with technology and qualifications.

Prior to the pandemic, she had already adapted to remote learning and introduced 20-minute themed discussions on a topic to enable her learners to achieve the knowledge part of their apprenticeship. This assessment method has been adopted as best practice by her peers.

Her personal qualifications include a Bachelor of Education degree specialising in French teaching, a Minor in Multi Media Design, Apprenticeships in Social Media for Business, Training Assessing and Internal Quality Assurance.

ā€œAngelina leads by example,ā€ added Lucy. “Her educational development has taken place internationally, which has enabled her to observe best practice from some of the leading educational countries in the world. Angelina goes over and above to share her knowledge and skills with colleagues and learners alike.”

On being shortlisted, Angelina said: ā€œIā€™m really happy that I have been shortlisted for Work-based Learning Practitioner of the Year, as it means a lot to me. It shows that others feel that I am making a difference in organisations and schools in Wales.

I work really hard and hope that the things Iā€™ve learned at university and in work are of use to other tutors, teachers and curriculum developers.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething congratulated Angelina and all the finalists. ā€œApprenticeships make a huge contribution to our economy and will be crucial as Wales continues to bounce back from the pandemic. They can help futureproof, motivate and diversify a workforce, offering people the chance to gain high-quality vocational skills.ā€

Angelina, 28, who works for training provider Ā鶹ֱ²„ in Cardiff, pioneered the delivery of the Digital Learning Design Apprenticeship Framework in Wales.

Lucy Wilkinson, Ā鶹ֱ²„ā€™s digital services route manager, explained: ā€œAngelina navigated the delivery of this qualification independently as, at the time, she was the only assessor for this qualification in Wales. Her drive and commitment to her continuous professional development within the digital industries is exceptional.ā€

Last night, Angelina was named Work-based Learning Practitioner of the Year at the prestigious Apprenticeship Awards Cymru 2022. The awards highlight the outstanding achievements, during unprecedented times, of employers, apprentices and work-based learning practitioners.

A former secondary school teacher of modern foreign languages, Angelina joined Ā鶹ֱ²„ as a trainee assessor in 2018 as she was looking for a new career challenge and wanted to help others become tech savvy.

To ensure that she fully understands her learnersā€™ journey, she has herself completed the apprenticeships that she delivers as well as learning Welsh so that she can deliver bilingually too.

Angelina, who lives in Cardiff and is originally from The Netherlands, has been so successful at learning the language that she won the Work Welsh Learner of the Year Award (intermediate) from the National Centre for Learning Welsh. She is fluent in five languages.

Learners and employers love her and she is her teamā€™s top performer ā€“ 90% of her learners complete their qualification and she achieves an 88% employer engagement rating.

She also supports and oversees digital services route learners at Ā鶹ֱ²„ and is constantly upskilling herself to keep pace with technology and qualifications.

Prior to the pandemic, she had already adapted to remote learning and introduced 20-minute themed discussions on a topic to enable her learners to achieve the knowledge part of their apprenticeship. This assessment method has been adopted as best practice by her peers.

Her personal qualifications include a Bachelor of Education degree specialising in French teaching, a Minor in Multi Media Design, Apprenticeships in Social Media for Business, Training Assessing and Internal Quality Assurance.

ā€œAngelina leads by example,ā€ added Lucy. ā€œHer educational development has taken place internationally, which has enabled her to observe best practice from some of the leading educational countries in the world. Angelina goes over and above to share her knowledge and skills with colleagues and learners alike.ā€

On being shortlisted, Angelina said: ā€œIā€™m really happy that I have been shortlisted for Work-based Learning Practitioner of the Year, as it means a lot to me. It shows that others feel that I am making a difference in organisations and schools in Wales.

I work really hard and hope that the things Iā€™ve learned at university and in work are of use to other tutors, teachers and curriculum developers.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething congratulated Angelina and all the finalists. ā€œApprenticeships make a huge contribution to our economy and will be crucial as Wales continues to bounce back from the pandemic. They can help futureproof, motivate and diversify a workforce, offering people the chance to gain high-quality vocational skills.ā€