It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s time to celebrate all the wonderful achievements of the Apprentices who work within Busy Bees nurseries at our annual Graduation Ceremony.
Over 100 graduating apprentices of all levels from Busy Bees nurseries across the country gathered at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham to celebrate the completion of apprenticeship programmes in catering, childcare and management over the last 12 months. They were joined by special guest, television presenter and life coach, Anna Williamson.
The event recognised and rewarded the hard work and dedication displayed by learners in Busy Bees nurseries every day, as well as promote the exceptional value that Apprenticeships can bring to other businesses and the wider UK workforce.
Coventry's Free Radio Breakfast Presenter, John Dalziel, entertained the crowd and introduced the various guest speakers, including Busy Bees MD Marg Randles, HR Director Claire Phizacklea and TV Presenter Anna Williamson.
Talking to the crowd, Anna, who is also a life coach, shared her experiences and wise words with the young apprentices. She explains what she wanted to achieve with her inspirational talk;
“Today is about empowering these fabulous young men and women who are achieving, sometimes in the face of adversity. I do a lot of work in my role as mentor with The Princes Trust, as a ChildLine Councillor, and an ambassador for Mind, a charity that deals with mental health issues. As someone who has suffered with my own metal health issues, I understand how much it impacts on your work.
“It’s also about learning how to celebrate their achievements, and hopefully they’ll come out of today feeling very chuffed with themselves and the things they have achieved so far.”
As well as enjoying a selection of ‘mocktails’, a celebratory lunch and posing with various ‘cuts outs’ of famous celebrities, a series of individual awards were presented to a number of the highest achieving apprentices, sponsored by local businesses and associates of Busy Bees Training Academy.
The chosen categories this year were: Intermediate Apprentice of the Year (Childcare), Advanced Apprentice of the Year (Childcare), Management Apprentice of the Year, Catering Apprentice of the Year, Traineeship Learner of the Year, Outstanding Achievement Award, Recognition of Career Progression Award, Best Nursery Support of the Year and Training Officer of the Year (see below for list of winners).
Each of the winners received a special gift and award as well as a certificate to proudly display at home.
Training Manager at Busy Bees Training Academy, Fay Gibbin, explains:
“The graduation ceremony is a perfect opportunity for us to celebrate our apprentices and a means of rewarding them for the quality of work they have displayed throughout their training programme to date. A huge congratulates goes to them and to all of our winners on the day.”