COMMUNICATION IS CRUCIAL TO A POSITIVE STUDENT EXPERIENCE
The connection between employer, apprentice and training provider is vital, especially when it comes to student engagement and development – not to mention those all-important end point assessment results. At Alan d, I’m constantly on the hunt for ways to strengthen connections with students and employers. And this is an area where we’ve seen considerable advances since bringing MHD to both our academies.
Let me explain. Our Suffolk academy is in the centre of Ipswich, but many of our apprentices come from salons in remote parts of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. Of course, we’ve always sent every student back to their salon with a report of what they’ve achieved with us during their training, either on paper or by email. However, these salons can sometimes feel cut off – and students in previous years have told us that they feel isolated. This is definitely something we’re keen to avoid.
WE’RE FORGING STRONGER CONNECTIONS WITH STUDENTS AND EMPLOYER PARTNERS
With its interactive platform, MHD has enabled us to forge closer links with all our apprentices and their salons. For example, employers can login and see precisely what their apprentice has been up to – then tailor their training to what’s been covered that week in the academy.
What’s more, with its extensive and creative range of tutorials, the MHD platform genuinely excites trainees… And guess what? When a student is excited, they talk! Apprentices can’t wait to show their employer the platform and explain what they’ve been learning.
With MHD’s help, we’ve created a network that starts at the Alan d academies is London and Ipswich and extends in all directions.
MHD ENSURES THAT EVERYONE’S WORKING FROM THE SAME PAGE
MHD has also created a buzz amongst the trainers within our Ipswich academy. During the last few weeks, we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming back one of our trainers – Stacey – from maternity leave and inducting a new one. I say “new”, but Alan Ward and I have known each other for years. He’s a brilliant educator and his colour knowledge is second to none.
Alan and Stacey are both based at our Ipswich academy – and both were amazed by the opportunities and benefits of using MHD. They commented initially on the simplicity of the platform and the sheer number of videos and techniques. And once they started to familiarise themselves with what MHD has to offer, we dropped playlist on them – and that really put the icing on the cake!
The ability to create bespoke programmes of videos for each unit of the programme is incredible. It keeps the student focused on what they need to achieve and makes it easy for the trainer to check progress. All of which is fantastic as we edge closer to putting our students through the new end point assessment (EPA).
Most significantly, both Alan and Stacey have remarked on the benefits that MHD delivers in terms of improving the overall student experience by increasing the levels of communication between all parties. Ultimately, as Alan puts it:
“When everyone’s invested in the apprentice and working from the same page, they’re empowered to achieve to the best of their ability.”
