Learner & Employer of the Month - April 2026
Bailey Jones - MANNA CARE Ltd
I would like to nominate a learner who, in a very short space of time, has shown an extraordinary change in both belief and behaviour. After coming from a place where he felt Functional Skills simply “wasn’t for him”, and where others doubted his ability to catch up, he chose to challenge that narrative. Within days, he not only increased his attendance but committed to multiple one‑to‑one sessions and went on to attempt both Functional Skills exams.
This has all taken place alongside his apprenticeship, where he works daily with vulnerable adults with autism, many of whom are non‑verbal. Time and again, reports speak of his patience, empathy, and rare ability to help others find ways to communicate.
He is a unique young man with a genuine gift for working with people. What makes this moment so powerful is that he has begun to show that same patience and belief in himself — allowing space to grow, engaging with staff and his personal tutor, and quietly proving just how much he’s capable of.
Tricuro
This employer has been a committed employer partner of ours for a number of years now and has consistently supported apprenticeships by putting learner’s progression and development first even through times of local authority funding cuts and restructures.
This employer has worked closely with us to build progression pathways in line with our programmes, fully utilized our pathways in L3 to diversify skillsets across their business and actively encourages their staff to progress with us.
With dedicated apprenticeship support, buddy schemes and internal training, learners get a great apprenticeship experience with this client and therefore a worthy winner of EOM.
Learner & Employer of the Month - March 2026
Paul Day - Voyage Care - Markham House
I would like to nominate this learner for Learner of the Month. He has been working in adult care for the past year, which is his first role in the sector following a significant career change from plumbing and almost fell into the role. Since joining, he has demonstrated exceptional dedication and passion for delivering high-quality care, always striving to ensure that service users have the best quality of life possible.
He consistently goes above and beyond in his role, regularly working 6–7 days a week to help cover staff shortages. His commitment is evident in his willingness to come into work even during his annual leave when support is needed.
He genuinely loves what he does and takes great pride in his job role. Initially, he enrolled onto Level 2 but lacked confidence; however, he has since grown tremendously in both confidence and capability and has a strong desire to progress further and has also embraced additional challenge of enrolling onto functional skills.
He has developed a keen interest in areas such as Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and mental capacity and is becoming an enthusiastic advocate for the individuals he supports.
Overall, he is an incredibly hardworking, compassionate, and motivated individual who is truly deserving of recognition.
Kelly Ward - Voyage Care
Kelly is one of the FSS for NE Derbyshire DCA supported living. Nothing is too much trouble for Kelly with the staff team for their development and encourages them all to complete at least L2 HSC. Having worked with Kelly for open events, staff engagement and ongoing upskilling of the staff team across the various services, she has always been available for application support, through to enrolments and tripartite reviews. Kelly (a learner herself on L5), continues to develop her own skills, knowledge and behaviours whilst ensuring the staff develop and progress in their knowledge for the people being supported in the services, Truly a pleasure to work alongside in partnership, and would love to take this opportunity to say thank you for all you do Kelly.
Learner and Employer of the month – February 2026
Dipti Chaudhari -Aum Care Group UK
I would like to nominate my learner, Dipti, for Learner of the Month.
During her apprenticeship, Dipti faced several challenges and at one stage considered withdrawing from the programme. As English is not her first language, she initially found the coursework particularly demanding. In addition, she has had to balance her studies alongside a busy work schedule and personal commitments, which made her journey even more challenging.
To support Dipti, I implemented tailored support strategies, providing additional guidance and regular check-ins to help build her confidence and understanding. Through her determination, resilience, and commitment to her development, Dipti successfully completed her apprenticeship.
Since completing the programme, Dipti has expressed her gratitude through several messages, sharing how proud and happy she feels about her achievement. Her progress and perseverance have been truly inspiring, and I am incredibly proud of what she has accomplished.
I strongly believe Dipti is a very deserving candidate for Learner of the Month, as she has demonstrated outstanding dedication, resilience, and a genuine commitment to her personal and professional growth
John Abreu, CCH Group - Guardian Homecare
Paragon Skills had the privilege of working alongside this employer who was supporting one of our learners and who sadly passed away very suddenly. He was an incredibly kind, patient and dedicated individual who took his role seriously and always led with compassion and respect.
During the progress review in January, he spoke so warmly about our learner, taking the time to express just how much of an asset she was to the team. His encouragement and belief in her abilities were clear, and it was evident how much pride he took in supporting her development. He guided her through her assignments with care, regularly sharing resources and taking the time to explain things clearly to help her understand and progress with confidence.
He had a genuine caring nature and always made time for both the learner and tutor, approaching every interaction with patience, professionalism and kindness. His commitment to supporting learners went far beyond what was required, and his encouragement made a real difference to our apprentice’s journey.
He will be remembered not only for his dedication to his work, but for the warmth, respect and genuine care he showed to those he supported. He leaves behind a lasting and positive impact, and he will be greatly missed.
Previous Winners
Mayen Owodiong - County Court Care
The learner was a little behind when i inherited her as a learner but has had weekly sometime two weekly meeting with me and functional skills to reach the end of her course. She has studied over Christmas to study For EPA, she completed on time, has been kept smiling and has grown so much in confidence since working with her. She has now gone forward for senior position.
All tutors involved with observations, functional skills and my self are so impressed with her dedication and the work she has put in.
Avery Healthcare
I would love to nominate Avery Healthcare for Employer of the Month in recognition of their incredible commitment to colleague learning and development. Avery continues to put apprenticeships at the heart of their people strategy and truly champions lifelong learning across the organisation.
December was a standout month for Avery, as they achieved their highest-ever number of apprenticeship enrolments — a fantastic milestone that reflects just how invested they are in supporting their colleagues to grow, develop, and succeed. Even more impressively, Avery has just reached 112 apprenticeship achievers, a huge achievement and a real testament to the support, encouragement, and culture of learning they’ve created. Their passion for learning, combined with their ongoing commitment to apprenticeships, makes them a shining example of what great employer engagement looks like and a thoroughly deserving Employer of the Month.