Liveryman Anne Ashworth
Giles Fagan
Siobhan Bradley
Robert McClements MBA, FRSA
Liveryman Anne Ashworth
Head of Employee Apprenticeships for Pearson Plc
Anne shares her apprenticeship journey and highlights the importance of supporting vocational learning.
As a former apprentice, I know at first-hand how instrumental an apprenticeship can be in establishing the foundations for future success. I have no doubt that my choice to follow a vocational route to furthering my education has provided me with countless opportunities over the years. That’s why I’ve spent the vast majority of my career championing apprenticeships to encourage others to follow different routes to the workplace than just academia.
Over the years, I’ve supported many hundreds of apprentices who made the choice to build careers through vocational learning, drawing on my own experience to provide guidance for the generations of apprentices that followed me. I’m so proud of them all – from Toni, a mum of one who lost her confidence returning to the work force but thrived after undertaking an apprenticeship, to Alex, who joined Pearson just a few months ago after being made redundant in her previous apprentice role, yet has taken joining our team remotely in her stride.
Igniting a passion for vocational learning
My journey with vocational learning started at the age of 15 as I found myself looking at the entry requirements for my dream role with the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS). I remember seeing a leaflet in my mother’s post office at a very young age and, by the time I visited my dad on a Navy submarine, my mind was well and truly set that it was the career for me.
I gained my basic secretarial and shorthand qualifications at school but then hit a stumbling block. How would I gain the occupational experience I needed so I could successfully apply for secretarial roles at the WRNS? That’s when I applied to become a secretarial apprentice with the UK Atomic Energy Authority in Dounreay, Scotland.
While studying, my apprenticeship allowed me to gain invaluable on-the-job experience, which meant I was able to achieve the entry criteria for my dream role in the WRNS with the bonus of completing my training debt free while earning a salary.
My own positive apprenticeship experience ignited a passion for vocational learning that has defined my entire career. Fast-forward a few years and I studied in the evening to qualify as a teacher whilst working full-time for a printing company. I then got a position as a lecturer at a college and, by 1999, I had become a government inspector for further education and training, specialising in work-based learning.
For the next 17 years, I worked for the Training Standards Council, the Adult Learning Inspectorate and then Ofsted, while also advising employers, further education colleges, local authorities and other training organisations on how to deliver high-quality learning to apprentices and other students, including adults and the most disadvantaged through my own consultancy company.
The huge value of apprenticeships
Now, in my role at Pearson and as a Liveryman and Apprentice Ambassador for the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers and a member of the National Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, I work closely with many employers, external third-sector organisations and schools to encourage a broader range of individuals to get into employment via an apprenticeship. I want to particularly encourage those from less privileged backgrounds to seek and gain employment through an apprenticeship.
The pandemic has changed the landscape for apprentices. Apprenticeships are very competitive so it is more important than ever for anyone considering them as a career option to be as prepared as possible, to meet employers to find out what they are looking for and to have a clear idea on the sector they wish to be part of.
The country continues to face immense challenges but businesses must not lose sight of the huge value of apprenticeships in equipping our young people with the skills they need to flourish in their careers. My own experience of vocational learning has opened many doors and I will continue to advocate on behalf of apprentices so that future generations have the same opportunities open to them that I was fortunate enough to have.
We are very excited about our two days of employer presentations on 30 June and 1 July. We would like to introduce you to some of our Stationers that will be hosting each of the events. They are keen to share with you their experiences working in this stimulating sector, what they have learnt, what they have enjoyed and why they became a Stationer. Each of them is passionate about apprenticeships and their importance to the future of the sector.
Giles Fagan
Clerk (CEO) of the Stationers’ Company
Having left school at 17, I was not sure what I wanted to do for a job. I grew up in a farming community, so I started work on a farm for three years during the summer holidays. During the winters, I did lots of temporary jobs from working in bars to data inputting for property companies. For fun, I joined an amateur dramatics theatre company and discovered that I really enjoyed acting and was quite good at it! I had found my vocation, so applied for several drama schools to teach me the skills I needed to become a professional actor and earn a living.
After three years at drama school, I began working professionally in theatre, television and on radio (I have a great face for radio 😊!). For 12 years, I worked hard, scraping a living together, but never quite making the breakthrough required to accelerate my career. It is a very difficult industry in which to succeed, as only 20% of actors are in work at any one time. That means 80% are actively looking for work and, invariably, working temporary jobs to earn a living. Between acting jobs, I worked for a company who organised and ran corporate events.
An opportunity arose to join the Stationers’ Company as the Events Manager (organising events for the members). This was a life changing moment, as it meant I would leave acting forever, as this was a full-time job. Whilst I loved acting, I now had a young family to support, so I grasped the opportunity of this secure job with both hands. That was 11 years ago. Since then, I have been promoted twice and now hold the title of Clerk (or CEO) to the Stationers’ Company.
Whilst I do not have a University degree, I have taken many courses to give me the skills I need. However, in all of the jobs I have had, I have always learned the most through ‘doing’ rather than ‘reading how to do’. This is what apprenticeships offer.
Having left school at 17, I was not sure what I wanted to do for a job. I grew up in a farming community, so I started work on a farm for three years during the summer holidays. During the winters, I did lots of temporary jobs from working in bars to data inputting for property companies. For fun, I joined an amateur dramatics theatre company and discovered that I really enjoyed acting and was quite good at it! I had found my vocation, so applied for several drama schools to teach me the skills I needed to become a professional actor and earn a living.
After three years at drama school, I began working professionally in theatre, television and on radio (I have a great face for radio 😊!). For 12 years, I worked hard, scraping a living together, but never quite making the breakthrough required to accelerate my career. It is a very difficult industry in which to succeed, as only 20% of actors are in work at any one time. That means 80% are actively looking for work and, invariably, working temporary jobs to earn a living. Between acting jobs, I worked for a company who organised and ran corporate events.
An opportunity arose to join the Stationers’ Company as the Events Manager (organising events for the members). This was a life changing moment, as it meant I would leave acting forever, as this was a full-time job. Whilst I loved acting, I now had a young family to support, so I grasped the opportunity of this secure job with both hands. That was 11 years ago. Since then, I have been promoted twice and now hold the title of Clerk (or CEO) to the Stationers’ Company.
Whilst I do not have a University degree, I have taken many courses to give me the skills I need. However, in all of the jobs I have had, I have always learned the most through ‘doing’ rather than ‘reading how to do’. This is what apprenticeships offer.
Siobhan Bradley
Siobhan Bradley is Employee Apprenticeship Programme Manager for Pearson Plc, nurturing talent to grow their professional career and growing the workforce skills strategy for the needs of a FTSE 100 Company.
Growing up in London she could see the disparity of learning opportunities and how this can have a lifelong impact. After graduating in 2005, Siobhan knew she wanted to be able to help others through learning and further education.
She is passionate about helping people to fulfil their potential with a focus on skills development that bring about real change and business benefits.
With 20 years’ experience working in training in both public and private sectors, Siobhan is a specialist in employee training and development and apprenticeships since 2011.
Siobhan is a member of the National Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) and proudly supports the work of the Stationers’ Company Apprentice Futures initiative.
Robert McClements MBA, FRSA
Liveryman, Stationers' Company
President CDI (Creative and Digital Industries) Founded on behalf of BPIF (British Printing Industries Federation) – a Special Interest Group leading the way into engagement with burgeoning communications technology competing with and complementing printing.
Curator of the annual www.VisualMediaConference.com – cutting edge communications technology from online to green screen and still including print – holography, 3D etc. Taking a step into executive education he was a director of the Bradford University School of Management and opened its programmes in the Middle East as well as managing clients ranging from BBC to the England and Wales Cricket Board Coaching Development. A Prince’s Trust Local Ambassador he takes a keen interest in career development for young people.