Working with Partners – Paragon Skills Case Study

AoA works closely with all our partners including training providers such as Paragon Skills. Hear from Jen March, Head of Product and Portfolio, and Sarah Arnesen, Marketing Director at Paragon Skills, below.

Paragon Skills logo in purple

20 years of experience providing quality apprenticeship training with
dedicated focus on the Care and Education sectors.
Paragon Skills is an award-winning, Ofsted-rated ‘Good’, national
apprenticeship provider inspiring over 7,000 learners annually and working with
over 2,000 businesses to deliver apprenticeships in a high-quality, consistent way.
Paragon Skills’ learners have an EPA pass rate of 99.6% with 65% of those achieving a merit or distinction.

On Community
From our perspective, our partnership with AoA is about building communities for apprentices, helping them feel connected and supported. This enhances our apprenticeship offer by developing our methods of communication and relationship with our apprentices, offering more than just curriculum content. They benefit from peer-to-peer interaction and additional support beyond the standard learning and development we provide.
Sarah Arnesen
Marketing Director
I strongly recommend the use of AoA Connect to foster a sense of community within the apprentice population, which we know can sometimes feel lonely. The apprentice meet-ups are also a great way for apprentices to meet and learn from others, as well as develop their networking skills.
Jen March
Head of Product and Portfolio
On Adding Value
From a marketing perspective, Paragon Skills’ monthly newsletter the Apprentice Pulse, enriched with content from AoA, provides apprentices with relevant information for their learning journey. This helps them make connections, progress, and envision their future in their chosen sectors, adding significant value to their career trajectory.
Sarah Arnesen
Marketing Director
The fact that we can offer this community helps us to stand out as a training provider and having this relationship with the AoA provides our learners with something above and beyond the standard apprenticeship experience.
Jen March
Head of Product and Portfolio
On Resources
From a curriculum perspective, we link apprentices to AoA's personal development content, integrating it throughout the entire learner journey. This includes directing learners to various resources after their initial pulse assessment and throughout their career development. Incorporating the Association of Apprentices' extensive personal development resources enables us to create a richer and more comprehensive learning experience.
Jen March
Head of Product and Portfolio

This case study is taken from AoA’s Insights Report 2024

Access it here

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.

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