• Individual nominated: Liam Woods
• Organisation: Kingdom Group

Statement of support

Liam joined Kingdom as HR/payroll trainee in July 2021. During those few years, he has developed into an extremely competent HR practitioner who works at a level way beyond his experience.

From the beginning, his desire to learn and push himself was very apparent. Liam took full ownership of his learning and drove that hard. If anything, the challenge was for Kingdom to keep up the pace of Liam’s development; he very quickly became competent, knowledgeable and skilled in the work he was learning.

As well as working extremely hard on his own development, Liam has been consistently supportive to his team mates and colleagues across Kingdom. That support has included Liam delivering training to colleagues.

Liam has covered vacancies in Kingdom’s HR team during his traineeship. When those vacancies arose, Liam immediately volunteered to cover them, recognising they presented opportunities for him to put his learning into practice. He needed very low levels of support in providing that cover even though one of the roles was at senior practitioner level.

Liam makes confident and valuable contributions in all circumstances and has demonstrated the confidence to constructively challenge the most senior people in the organisation, including the CEO.

Liam has made a genuinely valuable contribution to Kingdom and it is not an exaggeration to say the organisation is a better place because of his work. He has made a significant individual contribution to projects he has owned and been a key team member of teams delivering larger scale projects. That includes the ‘root and branch’ organisation restructure Kingdom is undertaking - Liam has been one of two members of the core team driving that project.

A few comments about Liam from colleagues:

• “You ask why and what if, you don’t just accept ‘this is how it is done’.”
• “Liam’s judgement and ability to confidently challenge, backed up with strong rationale and justification is a rare skill, especially so early in his career.”
• “I don’t think I go through the day when we are in the office that you don’t ask if there is anything you can do to help. I find this really supportive and your enthusiasm to take on new challenges is really appreciated.”
• “Liam has made a very positive impact in his work with Kingdom Support and Care (KSC). He is accountable, conscientious and professional and has a manner which allows him to relate well to a range of colleagues.”

Outcomes and achievements

In the first three months of his traineeship, we had a vacancy for an HR assistant - Liam temporarily covered that role and delivered to a very high standard.

Liam supported Kingdom’s HR manager with the design of a revised L&D offering for the group and development of a brand new Strategic Workforce Planning Process.

In the second year of his traineeship, Liam covered a vacancy for an HR business partner in the team. This is a senior practitioner role at Kingdom and yet Liam fulfilled the requirements of a role to a very high standard, working with the management team of Kingdom Support and Care.

Kingdom is currently undertaking a ‘root and branch’ organisational restructure. Since late 2023, Liam has been seconded to the core project team. Liam has personally undertaken extensive research and analysis of both the detail of the work Kingdom does and various structural options that may be open to us. He has also designed a number of structures for Kingdom for consideration by the project’s steering group.

Liam has completed his Level 5 CIPD qualification and holds Associate CIPD membership.

Following his traineeship, Liam has been appointed as a permanent HR advisor in Kingdom’s HR team.

• Individual nominated: Cerys Cameron
• Organisation: Ruchazie HA

 Statement of support

Cerys joined Ruchazie HA in August 2023 following recruitment in partnership with Glasgow Guarantee. We were delighted to appoint her to the role of customer services assistant (MA) at Ruchazie HA.

Ruchazie HA is well placed to provide any young person entering the sector with an excellent grounding in all housing matters. Cerys has had the opportunity in the last year to learn and develop experience and skills across all of our servicer delivery areas and attend training in all aspects of housing including customer care, repairs and maintenance and  as well as training provided in her coursework. 

In carrying out frontline duties including receptions duties, answering and dealing with phone calls, processing job lines, liaising with contractors on access, processing applications for housing and supporting staff to ensure compliance across a number of tenants and resident safety activities, Cerys manages her workload very efficiently. As a dyslexic person, she developed a wonderful colour coded system to identify and manage priorities effectively.

Cerys communicates well with our tenants and never hesitates to seek help and advice from the senior members of staff when providing information and advice. Cerys has yet to decide what path she will take but has expressed an interest in repairs and asset management, so this year will see Cerys support the property services officer with our planned and cyclical maintenance programme. Cerys also engages with young people in our community through newsletter competitions.

In the first few weeks of her starting, Cerys attended our AGM where she met a number of tenants and participated in a social bingo session with raffle, tenants remarked on her cheeriness and her refreshing approach to engaging with them.

• "I have worked with Cerys as her In Work support advisor from Glasgow Guarantee, since August 2023 when she started her modern apprenticeship as a customer service assistant with Ruchazie HA. Since our initial meeting Cerys has impressed me with her calm and positive attitude. Her growth as a professional and as a person during this time has been incredible to watch, she is determined hardworking and likeable. Cerys has embraced all learning opportunities provided throughout her apprenticeship, allowing her to be able to balance her work and training commitments. She has kept on top of her studies, and produces work to a high standard, successfully having completed the CIH Level 2 Certificate in Housing Practice, allowing her to contribute to different teams within her office and with customers and tenants. Her genuine passion and enthusiasm for delivering an excellent customer service experience is evident when speaking to her. I wish her the very best for her future as she progresses within the organisation." Catherine Woods,  Glasgow Guarantee In Work support adviser and job matching.
• “Delighted to hear that you are putting Cerys forward for an award, she has been a fantastic student on the MA programme this year, her wide and varied experience at Ruchazie has really shone through in the work that she has been able to produce. She is clearly very comfortable dealing with tenants and customers and has built up a lot of knowledge across many areas of the housing service that you provide. Her diligent approach to her work was very much appreciated and I am sure she has a long and successful career in housing in front of her.” Julie Ann Clocherty, learning and development officer, SHARE.

Outcomes and achievements

Cerys settled really quickly into her role and clearly demonstrated she wants to succeed in this role and take her learning forward.

Cerys took ownership of a number of tasks and has managed all of these to a high standard. She has created her own coded system to help manage her priorities and tasks which works really well for her and the organisation as she has never missed a deadline yet. Her commitment to succeed has been evident every day in her approach to her work.

Cerys successfully completed her CIH level 2 and very quickly moved on to undertake the SVQ level 3 in Administration which she has just recently completed and awaiting validation.

Cerys is well liked by her colleagues, tenants and our contractors. Her cheery disposition brightens the day.

Cerys is highly regarded by her advisors from Share and Glasgow City Council and has excelled in her achievements.

Cerys said: "I have learned a lot about social housing and community based organisations and how they contribute to their tenants lives. I am so grateful for the opportunity given to me and intend to put my learning to good use in the sector."

• Individual nominated: Steven Ford
• Organisation: Falkirk Council

Statement of support

Steven has been an excellent and key part of the team which encompasses two different services - Conflict Resolution Service dealing with anti-social behaviour and the private sector team. His development, increase in confidence, and adaptability have been very visible this past year and he is valued by his team members and other partners. This was only enhanced when feedback was requested as part of the completion of this nomination. The positive impact he has had is clear:

• "Steven is willing to help with anything and often offers assistance without being asked if he knows we are busy."
• "Great asset to our team, turns his hand to anything thrown at him and you can see his confidence building."

Steven is always keen to learn and understand the background and reasoning to tasks, and the benefit or impact to a customer. He is also now in a place where he is confident to identify issues and suggest changes such as our new ASB module (more detail below) or with data analysis, which he has a good eye for.

He will work off his own initiative when realises the team needs help, he won't wait to be asked which can be key in what is a very dynamic and fast paced operational team. Steven has acknowledged himself that initially he may have  come across as quiet, not overly confident but the change in his demeanour and his eagerness to speak up, suggest changes, and to positively integrate with his team and our partner agencies has been very apparent. A person who is quiet does not necessarily mean they struggle with confidence - Steven is someone who clearly listens, observes, takes on board feedback, works hard, and respects those around him as they do him. It is a pleasure having Steven as part of the team.

Outcomes and achievements

Within the team his most significant and important achievement is his core integration into the team which he has achieved through his hard work, adaptability, and willingness to always be on hand to help and take on board more to assist his colleagues. As such he has become a valued member of the team. Steven's self confidence has notably increased since he started which has then had positive effects on his communication and resourcefulness.

Project Outcomes:

New ASB Case Management system and ASB Reporting system has come into place - Steven has been an asset in identifying system errors and suggesting improvements/changes which have then assisted his colleagues, ensuring an overall smoother transition when allocating cases to them and minimising additional 'growing pains' which always happen when new systems introduced.

Mobile CCTV Panel - managing CCTV referral admin, preparing hard evidence/data checks which are all required as part of criteria. Steven has also assisted with the review of effectiveness of Mobile CCTV which has included him creating 'End of Deployment Review Form' which was identified as a gap.

Private Sector Tenant Engagement Survey - took ownership of recording all returns and creating and preparing an analysis of the data. This was the first time this had been done so no set template of analysis in existence. Steven took on board the work the team do, what information the team were looking to tease out which was vital when looking to ensure our private tenants are living in properties of an adequate and safe condition which everyone is entitled to.

Private Rented Database (PRD) - took ownership and made a number of positive suggestions to tweak the PRD during his apprenticeship. He showed a real interest in this task, as he does with everything he learns.

Prescribed Information Checks - new project that we started in Falkirk Council to check all private landlord certification which landlords confirm they have in place when apply to Register. This is not required by statute but has proved very valuable. Steven has taken over elements of the process including initial emails and the subsequent reminders, engaging with landlords. Steven has also been keen to learn what to look for in the certificates when they are supplied and has picked up quite a few discrepancies in them.

• Individual nominated: Tomas Potter
• Organisation: City of Edinburgh Council

Statement of support

Tomas joined the City of Edinburgh Council Housing Operations Service in 2023 and has just completed his first-year gas engineer apprenticeship. Tomas was interested in the apprentice scheme as he liked manual work and was keen to work with his hands. He started with the council directly from school and has already shown a real commitment to the role. 

Tomas has fully immersed himself in his role and has quickly adapted from the school environment to the workplace. Tomas has impressed his mentors with his mature attitude, his willingness to learn and the respect he has shown his work colleagues as well as our customers. Tomas is adaptable and can work in a variety of different situations and is always challenging himself to continually improve his practical skills and knowledge. He is based in a local housing office and spends most of his time out and about in the city attending to heating repairs for our tenants. His enthusiasm for his job really shone through in his ability to pick up the complex terminology related to the equipment, component parts and repairs with ease.

Throughout his first year at college, he has excelled in his academic learning mainly concentrated on Health and Core Gas Safety and Building Services. Tomas’s tutors indicated that he approached all his lectures with interest, attention and enthusiasm and showed a good sense of competence, understanding and gas safety awareness which culminated in him successfully passing. Tomas’s full attendance and commitment to learning culminated in him passing both Summative online exams. 

Tomas displays the right attitude and aptitude to succeed in his role and he is popular with his peers and the wider repairs team. He is at ease working in tenant’s homes and is respectful to the householders needs but is also considerate to his colleagues. One example was when the council recently replaced diesel vans with electric, but Tomas’s mentor was injured and unable to drive. As there were tight time constraints placed on the transfer of vehicles, Tomas volunteered to drive to his mentor’s home, pick him up and drive him to the fleet depot so he could sign for the new van and drove him home again. Tomas understood the impact of any delays to this key initiative and displayed ownership and problem solving skills to meet the required deadline.

He also volunteered to appear in a recruitment video on working for the council. This was completely out of his comfort zone, but Tomas approached this challenge with professionalism, a mature attitude and came across on the camera as a well-adjusted young man who was passionate about the job he does.    

Tomas’s contribution to date with the gas team has brought many benefits to the service including him happily undertaking more challenging heating tasks, such as stripping down a boiler and carrying out a full repair to assist in the reduction of void properties and ease pressure on homelessness services. His enthusiasm and eagerness to learn has greatly contributed to service delivery and his mentors confirm that his overall attitude and desire to improve his skills and understanding of the service means he is a joy to work with and his overall performance has had a positive influence on the rest of the team.

Outcomes and achievements

In the past year, Tomas has successfully applied his academic learning in the workplace and has excelled his peers by undertaking more complex work (under supervision) such as trace and and repair electrical, gas and water faults on various types of boilers and central heating systems as well as carrying out full repairs within customer’s homes. 

Tomas recently took part in the council’s Work for Us promotional campaign where he appeared in a video to promote apprenticeships schemes within our service and the council. He was confident, articulate and came across as a mature and well-adjusted young man. He was at ease being asked questions about the apprentice scheme. The video has been widely viewed on the council’s website and YouTube channel. 

A testimonial from one of our tenants highlights the impact Tomas has when he undertakes work within our customer’s homes:

• “I would just like to say thank you for your very quick response to my central heating. Alan and Tommy were very nice considering I didn't know they were coming and was asleep when they arrived but very much appreciated!.” Received 22/7/24 from tenant who had requested a heating repair.

• Individual(s)/team nominated: Robbie Welsh
• Organisation: Eildon Housing Association Ltd

Statement of support

As Eildon’s digital services apprentice, Robbie is responsible for first line IT helpdesk support to all our colleagues. This involves troubleshooting device, technology and software problems to resolve basic issues and queries , documenting and articulating issues for escalation to other team members.

• “For someone of such a young age - 17 years-old when he started with us - Robbie has excelled as our frontline customer support agent. He has the knack of being able to relate to colleagues, using non-technical language with empathy and patience. His knowledge and skills have developed really quickly and he has great relationships with colleagues who are frequently asking him for advice and support. From day one, it was clear that Robbie was keen to learn and develop his skills and knowledge” said Mark Lees, IT infrastructure coordinator.

Robbie joined Eildon in October 2022 straight from school. From the beginning he had a genuine appreciation of the importance of the service he is involved in delivering to Eildon’s colleagues. Eildon’s digital services team have a wide remit being responsible for Eildon’s wider IT infrastructure, devices, telephony and key software applications including M365.

Robbie’s desire to learn and develop was quickly demonstrated. Within 12 months months, he was undertaking work that would normally be done by much more experienced and senior colleagues. For example undertaking site visits to troubleshoot hardware and connectivity issues and getting involved in induction sessions with new colleagues. In preparation for these he is involved in sourcing and setting up the hardware, software and other apps required by colleagues to perform their roles effectively. He was also volunteering to take on additional work linked to Eildon’s approach to preventing socially engineered cyber attacks. Using Eildon’s Knowbe4 security awareness training platform he took on responsibility for sending fully automated phishing attacks and creating phishing training campaigns. These were instrumental in reducing Eildon’s overall security risk score.

As Robbie has developed his skills and knowledge he has been able to take an active roles in other IT projects, such as the lease and rollout of new photocopiers, implementation of new audio visual equipment in meetings rooms and display screen technology in our nine supported housing sites. To help colleagues get to grips with the new kit he organised training sessions and produced simple guidance documents to help them use the equipment with confidence.

More recently he has worked with another member of the team on a wider communication project for digital services, establishing and creating monthly IT publications ‘Tech Monthly’ and ‘Catch of the month’. These promote news about IT, latest software developments, user top tips and the best examples of phishing emails spotted and reported by colleagues. Designed to support independent learning and raising awareness of cyber attacks. These have been well received by colleagues.

Lynn Mirley, Director of Business Support said:

• "It has been my immense pleasure to watch Robbie grow in confidence over the past two years and see the contribution he has made to the organisation. He has a strong customer focus and work ethic which has led to him being a trusted colleague and someone that people know they can rely on to provide them the support and advice they need. As he has grown into his role, he has developed good communication and interpersonal skills as demonstrated by his ability to support a wide variety of users, from our board members to our support workers, who all have varying levels of IT literacy.”

Outcomes and achievements

Robbie completed the Diploma in Digital Application support at SCQF level 6 and has now been accepted and is starting as a graduate apprentice in Cyber Security at Napier University in September 2024.

Robbie has worked hard to enhance his career and knowledge of our IT support services, infrastructure and core software and now routinely undertakes work normally completed by more senior colleagues. He places colleagues needs at the heart of everything he does and has a clear desire to make a positive difference to the service and support provided by Eildon’s IT team.

Robbie said:

• “My role as digital service apprentice with its combination of practical experience and education has greatly boosted my confidence and skills, making it a truly rewarding experience.” 

His dedication and drive has seen him make a significant impact within Eildon through his day-to-day service delivery to colleagues, his involvement is in key IT projects, including his work to raise awareness of socially engineered cyber attacks and co-production of Eildon’s ‘Tech Monthly’.

Robbie has been presented with Eildon’s recognition award for demonstrating the full range of Eildon’s values (Caring, Committed, Connected and Creative) and continues to make an impact on a day-to-day basis.