Contributors

Our work is supported and helped by the following contributors. These great people and organisations help us to support you!

The 5% Club
Companies joining The 5% Club pledge to increase the number of apprentices, sponsored students, and graduates on formal programmes to 5% of their total workforce within five years. Members are also asked to publicly report their progress in their Annual Report. Existing members range from SMEs to FTSEs and cover a diverse set of industries, from engineering through to the legal sector.
Grant Thornton is a professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms which provide assurance, tax and advisory services to privately held businesses, public interest entities, and public sector entities. With over 5,000 employees in the UK and 27 offices, ir is one of the largest professional services networks in the world.
Investors in People
Investors in People have been making work better for organisations across the world since 1991. Since then, we’ve worked in 66 countries, making work better for over 11 million people worldwide.
Not Going to Uni
Not Going To Uni showcases the alternatives to the standard university route, to school and college leavers. Our company is built on supporting young people in finding future careers, and we believe in educating students on all educational routes, ensuring they have the knowledge to understand all options available to them. We work with a variety of Enterprise Employers, Training Providers, FE colleges, Gap Year Providers and SMEs, advertising their apprenticeship vacancies to our audience. We are on a mission to change the way that young people engage with brands and discover their future careers. We work closely with Schools, Colleges, Careers Advisers and our team of NGTU Ambassadors to drive awareness of the fantastic alternatives to university.
WorldSkills UK
WorldSkills UK is an independent charity that work in partnership with employers, education and governments to raise standards in apprenticeships and technical education so more young people get the best start in work and life. They are part of WorldSkills, a global movement supported by over 80 member countries, which celebrates young people achieving world-class standards in the biennial ‘skills olympics’. As the only skills charity which can bring this global benchmarking back into the UK, they have the unique assets, resources and networks to help raise training standards and improve young people’s technical and soft skills-set and resilient mindset to ever higher standards.
Finwell white logo
FinWELL is an award-winning, human-centred training provider specialising in financial education and wellbeing for apprentices and early-career talent. We believe every apprentice deserves the knowledge, confidence and support to thrive both at work and beyond. Our training empowers apprentices and young adults to build positive, lifelong relationships with money, supporting improved wellbeing, resilience and mental health. Our CPD-certified programmes are designed specifically for apprentices: practical, engaging and inclusive, with outcome-based learning that helps learners set goals, track progress and build real-world financial capability. Covering everything from payslips, tax, budgeting, credit and debt to savings, investing, pensions and future planning, FinWELL supports AoA members to develop the essential life skills needed to navigate modern working life, progress in their careers and succeed long term. *FinWELL Training Ltd do not offer financial advice and do not promote, endorse or recommend any regulated product, provider or service.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Greater Manchester is one of the country's most successful city-regions. Home to more than 2.8 million people and with an economy bigger than that of Wales or Northern Ireland. Our vision is to make Greater Manchester one of the best places in the world to grow up, get on and grow old. We're getting there through a combination of economic growth, and the reform of public services. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority(GMCA) is made up of the ten Greater Manchester councils and Mayor, who work with other local services, businesses, communities and other partners to improve the city-region.
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RAFT connects apprentices with experienced mentors through video calls and AI assistance, helping them complete their qualifications with confidence. RAFT is an independent UK educational not-for-profit dedicated to supporting trade apprentices with remote mentorship and guidance. Our programme is completely free for both apprentices and education providers, thanks to generous donations and technological support from our partner Help me Fix. We believe that every apprentice deserves access to expert guidance, regardless of their location or circumstances.
Youth Employment UK is a not for profit, community interest company and the expert voice on youth employment. We bring together young people aged 11 - 30 and organisations who support them including employers, training providers and charities.

Jan Richardson-Wilde

CEO, Occupational Awards Limited

Jan is the CEO of Occupational Awards Limited, a Director of the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink and an FE College Governor. She has over 35 years’ experience in the education sector in strategic and operational management of training programmes with colleges, private training providers, local authorities the voluntary sector and not for profit organisations. Jan has previously been a board member of the Learning and Skills Council, chair of the North Yorkshire Training Provider network and Vice-Chair of Yorkshire Coast College and a Governor of the Grimsby Institute for Further and Higher Education. She has extensive experience of education policy, apprenticeships, qualification, and curriculum development as well as business improvement.

Jan joined OAL in 2019, a leading non-profit industry-focused Awarding and End-Point Assessment Organisation, supporting a wide range of employers and of key stakeholders to succeed and surpass expectations. Jan is committed to continuous improvement and enthusiastic about improving the effectiveness, impact and quality of apprenticeships, education, and training in the UK and internationally. She has a wide range of experience of working in a collaborative context with employers and training providers to develop End Point Assessment, apprenticeships, and a wide range of vocational programmes.