Our Members
Ambassadors (on a voluntary basis) actively support and influence a wide range of key stakeholders including schools, colleges, local enterprise partnerships, employers and their supply chains, trade associations and employment bodies. They champion and support marketing, publicity and events to raise awareness of apprenticeships and also mentor other employers. If you are an employer thinking about apprenticeships and would like to talk to an ambassador, please make contact
Matt O’Conner – Regional Chair
John O’Conner Grounds Maintenance
John O’Conner has had an apprenticeship programme in place for a number of years now. The training is developed around the needs of our business, allowing us to train and develop future supervisors and Managers. Apprenticeships are a great way to nurture current and future talent within a business, they’re not just for large organisations. Apprenticeships have really helped us to promote careers in horticulture.
Al Kingsley
NetSupport Ltd
Al is the Group Managing Director of NetSupport, a software development company and also the chair of Chair of Hampton Academies Trust. The company have apprentices studying Customer Service, Technical Support, Marketing & Social Media. He says that apprenticeships “bring fresh ideas, young people with a drive to learn and be successful, receptive to shaping to suit business needs and are a fantastic way to grow your own.”
Effie Burrell
East of England Co-op
At the East of England Co-op, apprenticeships are meeting real business needs. A talent pipeline has been created that has seen our apprentices promoted into more senior roles. Effie is a passionate ambassador for apprenticeships with 30 years’ experience in the retail sector, 10 of which have involved working with apprentices. Effie says, “I find it so rewarding giving someone the opportunity to develop, then seeing them flourish and grow in confidence.”
Gemma Zabbar
Hertfordshire County Council
Gemma is the Senior HR lead for Apprenticeships in Herts County Council, who offer apprenticeships in a wide range of job roles including legal, facilities, health care, customer service, digital industries and youth work to name just a few! Gemma says that one of the best bits of her job is “Being able to offer amazing development opportunities to existing staff as well giving new apprentices the opportunity to work and study at the same time.”
Jamie Canter
Atalian Servest
Jamie is the Hidden Talent Manager for Atalian Servest, a global solutions supplier with over 500 apprentices in its workforce. The business has a wide range of apprenticeship programmes on offer, including Hospitality, Leadership and Management, Customer Service, Digital Marketing, Facilities Management and many more.
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Jamie is the chair for our Norfolk and Suffolk network. He started his own career as a apprentice, studying Business Administration and therefore is very passionate about Apprenticeships in general having worked in the FE sector prior to joining the current employer in an Apprenticeship Management role.
Martin Lawrence
Stainless Metalcraft
Stainless Metalcraft has a well-established record of delivering great apprenticeships with three out of four Company Directors, former apprentices.
A company proud of British Engineering & Manufacturing and passionate about encouraging young people into the profession. Martin, Commercial Director says “Apprenticeships are a great way to develop & nurture your own people, doing the things you need them to do, within a structured and recognised training programme. Your apprentice(s) will start to add value much quicker and are motivated from the start as they are earning whilst they are learning.”
Stuart Gibbons
Le Mark
Stuart is Managing Director of Le Mark, an SME based in Cambridgeshire that supplies and manufactures products worldwide to the arts and entertainment industry. Stuart chairs our Cambridgeshire & Peterborough network, and is relentless in his advocacy of apprenticeships for small businesses. He says “Apprentices bring a very fresh and dynamic approach to Le Mark. Once they understand their role, they contribute ideas and suggestions.” According to Stuart, “The ability to ‘home grow and develop’ to your own company standards will always pay dividends. We have found excellent loyalty once the apprentice understands the company philosophy.”
Caroline Cartwright
Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership
Caroline is the Skills Lead in Hertfordshire focusing on projects such as the Apprenticeship reforms, T Levels, skills advice for our employers, the Careers and Enterprise Company and the development of the Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal – HOP! Caroline is passionate about ensuring Hertfordshire knows everything there is to know about Skills, Careers and Apprenticeships and whether you are a student, Hertfordshire resident or employer you can now hop into all the resources your need to make an informed career decision, choose qualifications and apprenticeships, find jobs and understand how to continue your professional development.
Tara Bishop
University of Hertfordshire
I have worked in this field for many years and have a breadth of knowledge and experience as both employer and provider. Apprenticeships are a fantastic way to develop individuals and build confidence which I have had the pleasure of witnessing many times over the years and I will continue to promote apprenticeships at every opportunity, because I know what a benefit they are to business and tackling the skills shortages we have in the UK.
The University of Hertfordshire has been at the forefront of developing and delivering Degree Apprenticeships since their introduction and to date produced over 18 programmes for industry. We are delighted to offer apprenticeships to our staff from levels 2 to 7 and have recently launched our new Leadership and Management apprenticeship programmes.