Karen Woods spent 20 years without any new qualifications, until t2 business solutions put her on a Management Modern Apprenticeship to progress her career.

Everything that Karen tried, such as an A level in Ceramics, she gave up, until t2 made a visit to her place of work, giving her the opportunity to do a Management Modern Apprenticship.

The Management Modern Apprenticship is a vocational training qualification that develops management skills through an integrated combination of work-based learning, assignments and classroom training.

To gain the Modern Apprenticeship , Karen attended six Institute of Leadership and Management training sessions at t2, completed assignments based on what she had learnt and gathered evidence of her management experience from her role at Lyndell House. The Modern Apprenticeship qualification includes an NVQ in management and an ILM Introductory  Award in first line management.

Upon completion of the Management Modern Apprenticeship , Karen decided to keep on learning and progressed to the higher Level 4 Management Modern Apprenticeship , which she has also now completed.

Karen said: “I was only inspired to take up the course when I was told that it was available to me free of charge. With my children now having grown up, and more time on my hands, I thought I would give it a try.”

After beginning the course, Karen decided that she wanted to continue and see it through to the end. t2 Personal Development Manager’s and trainers helped Karen along the way, ensuring that she had everything she needed and was comfortable with what she was doing.

Dave Clissitt, ILM training Manager at t2, said: “Karen is a committed and enthusiastic learner who always gave 100%. Her projects were based on real situations and the results had a significant impact on the business. She took her training into the workplace and introduced a Complete Performance Management system.

“Tutoring Karen was always a pleasure – she would naturally get involved in all training sessions. She had the ability to respond to feedback with a fast turnaround, absorb all information and decipher what she needed in her work life.”

Karen said: “I was bitten by the bug. If I had homework to do, I would take it home that night and finish it by midnight. Dave was such an inspiration. He encouraged and motivated me to keep going. I would always look forward to my next meeting with him and felt completely supported.

“t2 gave me everything I needed – completely unconditional support was freely available.  The people that supported me were all first class individuals and trainers – nothing was too much trouble for them and they were always true to their word.”

When Karen thought the NVQ might not be for her, Gaynor Williams, her Personal Development Manager, managed to change her mind.

Gaynor Williams said: “I was assigned as Karen’s PDM during her first course. Her turnaround on the NVQ was excellent. She became enthusiastic about the course, both the learning and putting it into practice. The work that Karen was producing was spot on and she had no problems at all with the ILM award. She enjoyed studying on the job, and was determined throughout the vocational training .

“Karen also completed an additional two key skills on the course, which was above and beyond what was required. The evidence she gained for her assignments was always thorough and related perfectly to the hard work she was doing. The results definitely paid off and her eagerness will be missed.”

The work that Karen has undertaken since her training has been a huge success. She has implemented SMART objectives into the nursing home, with plans to have the best trained staff in 12 months – and claims that she is now half way there.  Karen has also introduced a Performance Management System into the practice and commented on how both her performance and the performance of those around her have improved as a result.

Del Singh, Owner of Lyndell House Nursing Home said: “As a person, Karen has developed out of all recognition. The insight that she has gained on management has consequently promoted her to the position of Acting Manager, with a view of taking on the Manager role.

“She has adapted the training programme at Lyndell House, and is organising training for everyone to bring them up to the expected standards. Overall, she has done exceedingly well and we are very pleased with her efforts.”

Karen said: “I would return to training with t2 without any hesitation at all. The training that I have done has made a huge difference to my life, my financial situation and my self esteem. After 20 years without any training, it was difficult to get back into it, but it has improved my confidence to no end. If it wasn’t until t2, I would never have progressed in my career.”

Rob Marr, Managing Director of t2 business said: “It is excellent to see the blended learning courses having such an effect. Karen was able to learn on the job and in the classroom and put everything into practice at work. The progression between her two qualifications has been outstanding, and her hard work has paid off with development in her career. We are very pleased for Karen, and wish her luck in her new position as Manager.”