One Year On

17^th August 2020 we got the keys to our first ever training centre. August was mainly painting, building office furniture and making our centre look beautiful.

In September 2020 we got our first awarding body centre approval with Qualifications Network. This meant we could now start to promote and run some of our courses.

On the 14^th October we had our Grand Opening event. I was so nervous. Would people attend? Would people like us and what we plan to achieve? Thankfully it was just the most amazing day. Despite COVID restrictions, and us only being able to welcome 5 visitors at a time, people wanted to come and share the day with us and were so complimentary about what we had already achieved and our plans for the future.

October also saw us being admitted to the Dynamic Purchasing System with DMBC for the provision of one to one tuition. Our first successful tender!

On the 4^th November Skill Step Training C.I.C was incorporated. This was set up as a not for profit organisation which aims to provide life-long learning opportunities which will allow Doncaster and its people to thrive. As a Doncaster girl, born and bred, I am passionate about my home town and wanted to give something back. Since it’s incorporation we have secured grant funding to provide funded training to Doncaster voluntary and community groups to support the sector to grow whilst maintaining quality of provision. We have lots more exciting plans for our C.I.C. Watch this space...

In November we also got approval with a second awarding body, Highfield Qualifications. This meant we could expand our portfolio and offer additional qualifications and a full suite of e-learning programmes.

Just before the Christmas break on the 17^th December- what a great time to have a RISQS (Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme) audit! Mt first introduction to the Rail industry. This was intense. 7.5 hours on teams call with an auditor not just checking we have a million (ok I am exaggerating slightly...) policies and procedures in place but ensuing that we knew them and were implementing them. We got through it. And passed. And had a large gin that night.

On the 27^th January we has our NSAR (National Skills Academy for Rail) advisory visit. The Quality Assurance Manager checked our training facilities were fit for purpose and discussed with us our plans for ensuring quality of provision and talking through our staff expertise.

February our amazing freelance first aid trainer was back in the training room delivering a number of First Aid courses for Keyworkers and continuing to build our reputation as the go to provider for First Aid in Doncaster.

Following our NSAR advisory visit in January we had spent the last month pulling together and submitting all of our policies and procedures and in March our NSAR application was approved. Now the hard work really starts...

March also saw us employ our first ever full time employees. On the 1^st March our Business Support Apprentice and Business Support Officer (who we recruited as part of the Kickstart scheme) started. This finally meant I wasn’t on my own rattling around the centre. Both employees settled in amazingly and were a great help in those early days. Two young people aged 18 were part of our early journey and have been great and helping the business to grow and develop.

In April we started delivery of our funded training though our C.I.C and started delivery on the Kickstart scheme. We invested in an e-portfolio to help us deliver employability support and training remotely. We also worked with some local employers to help them to recruit young people as part of the Kickstart scheme and provided them with wrapround support and training.

After a lengthy tender process in May we were informed that we were successful in being appointed to the framework for Sheffield City Region’s Adult Education Budget. This was amazing news and after a few unsuccessful tenders it really did give me a confidence boost that I wasn’t too bad at writing a funding application.

June. June is a bit of a blur. The busiest month by far since we started. On the 1^st June we welcomed our fourth employee, our Rail Training Manager. On the 2 nd June he delivered his first course. And since then I don’t think his feet have touched the ground! We have been overwhelmed by how quickly our Rail Training division has taken off. We have become approved suppliers with a number of clients and received some amazing feedback from our leaners.

We delivered our first L3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement course and I just loved being back in the classroom. What a great bunch of learners we had.

June was also a very successful month for a number of grant applications we had been working on. We were informed that we had been successful in securing funding from Business Doncaster as part of the Economic Recovery Grant which would help us to develop our website, e-commerce page and online booking system. We were also successful in securing a digital innovation grant from DMBC to develop a Skill Step Training App and finally we received funding from Business Doncaster for a Business Productivity Grant which will allow us to expand our training facilities. More on that later...

Throughout July we invested in new processes that would help us manage our business effectively whilst supporting our learners and providing that little bit extra for our clients. We began to embed online maths and English initial assessments throughout all of our courses so we were able to identify, support and signpost where learners identify a training and development need. We also invested in a management information system which would allow us to record and track learner progress to help us to analyse our programmes and also to provide our clients with key information about their employees.

The 4^th August was our first Quality Assurance delivery visit from NSAR. This for me was the equivalent of an Ofsted visit for our Rail Training. As much as know we are doing a good job and how well we support our learners it is always daunting when external bodies come and inspect us. I also thought we had 4 months before we got the 5 days' notice, but no, here we were just 2 months after starting delivery. Deep breath. This was our time to shine! The two Quality Assurance Managers first observed our Rail Training Manager who was delivering day 2 of a 4 day COSS course. Of course he smashed it. They then reviewed a number of documents including our Self-Assessment Report, Quality Improvement Plan, team meeting minutes, staff appraisals and our Strategic Plan. I then had a two hour interview to talk through our Quality Assurance strategies and the impact these have on our learners. I could have talked for days. Although it is disappointing as a new provider we are only able to be awarded a bronze grade we received amazing feedback. NSAR were very positive about our plans to do something a little different. We have not yet got our report but I will share this with you all when we do.

In September we are set to welcome our Operations Director and Training Coordinator. Two roles which will bring so much to our business. They both bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience working within the education and training sector. We can’t wait for them both to start.

In September we are also due to launch our new website with an all singing, all dancing online booking system. After months of a manual booking process this will be very much welcomed making it a lot easier for our clients and learners to booking training with us and will also help us to work more effectively and efficiently. After our online booking system is launched the next phase of our digital investment is the development of a learner app. I am very excited about this. Learners will be able to track their progress through the app and have instant access to key information they need to help them to achieve and progress.

We have plans to secure approvals for new programmes and courses (but I will tell you more about that once we have the nod!).

One of the most exciting things I want to tell you though is that we are in the process of taking on a new purpose built training centre. I don’t want to say too much about that just now, but it will be a well-equipped 21^st century training centre and we will have our very own purpose built Rail Training span. More to be revealed on that in the coming weeks.

Since opening our training centre one year ago we have welcomed over 160 learners through our doors. We have received the most amazing feedback and have seen our learners developing new skills and progressing within their careers.

Wow, writing this has got me a little bit emotional and thinking back to what we have achieved over the past 12 months. Considering we have had a little boy home learning for the majority of the year and with so much uncertainty and worry around the pandemic, I don't think we have done too bad. Yes it has been hard work, yes it has been quite stressful at times but one thing I know for sure is that we have an amazing, talented, passionate team who will support us in driving the business forward and will support our learners to "build the skills to provide the steps for a better future".