Leadership Briefing: Apprenticeships – the who, how and why of introducing an apprenticeship role in your organisation

*Please note that registration for this event has now closed*

The theme for the M25 Consortium’s next Briefing will be Library Apprenticeships. It will feature both employer (including library and HR) and employee perspectives. This event is aimed at those in leadership positions within libraries including directors, assistant directors and functional service heads.

Directors, Heads of Service and their chosen delegates from both within and without the M25 Consortium are invited to attend a leadership briefing on Apprenticeships – the who, how and why of introducing an apprenticeship role in your organisation.

Our speakers will present on their experiences of how they have introduced these roles in their own organisations and how these processes have grown and developed over time. The event will also include first hand accounts from the lived experience of those who have/are undertaking apprenticeships within their organisations.

This Briefing has a particular focus on introducing and implementing apprenticeships for those considering the level 4 and in advance of the upcoming level 7 apprenticeship. The talks will bridge from strategic to practical and implementing a new scheme

Programme:

13:00 Arrival, refreshments and networking

13:30 Welcome (Andrew Preater, Library Director, Goldsmith’s University) and update on level 7 apprenticeship

13:45 Rachel Thomas, Apprenticeships Coordinator at the University of Reading

14:15-15:00 Questions, discussion and actions

15:00 Comfort break

15:15pm Wellcome Collections, introducing the role at Wellcome and what they’ve learnt

15:45 Questions, discussion and actions

16:00 Close, and opportunity to view facilities and exhibition at the RCN

Speaker biographies:

Andrew Preater, Library Director Goldsmiths, University of London.

Andrew Preater (pronouns: he/him) is Director of Library Services at Goldsmiths, University of London. Andrew joined Goldsmiths in 2023 and provides leadership and strategic direction for the Library.

Prior to this, his experience in higher education included posts at University of West London, Imperial College London; Senate House, University of London; and the University of Durham where he began his career working in library systems.

Andrew’s professional interests include the role of academic libraries in equity and widening participation and working-class experiences of higher education, and the application of critical librarianship to library leadership. He is also a member of the M25 Consortium of Libraries Steering Group, and is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Rachel Thomas, Apprenticeship Co-ordinator, University of Reading.

Rachel joined the University of Reading in her current role as Apprenticeships Coordinator in the HR department in 2022. Apprenticeships for staff at the University of Reading are still very new, but since starting in August, Rachel has increased the total number of apprentices from 8 to 14 with a wide variety of apprenticeship standards and training providers, and several more are scheduled to begin this year. Rachel has also been working to create and improve processes within HR to accommodate increasing numbers of apprenticeships.

Rachel first began working at the University of Reading in 2014, where she worked in technical roles supporting teaching and research. In 2021, she changed careers and began working in the apprenticeships sector as Apprenticeship Recruitment Coordinator at Abingdon & Witney College, an apprenticeship training provider. This experience has given her valuable insights into apprenticeships from a training provider’s perspective which have been helpful in her current role.

Eleanor Hennessy, Interim Head of Visitor Experience, Wellcome Collection

Eleanor Hennessy has worked at Wellcome Collection since 2014, starting as a Visitor Experience Assistant, she is currently Interim Head of Visitor Experience. El champions inclusive museum experience for staff and visitors, centring lived experience and user needs.

Colum Gaskell, Visitor Experience Manager, Wellcome Collection

Colum is a Visitor Experience Manager at Wellcome Collection and has recently restarted their Customer Service Level 2 Practitioner Apprenticeship within the Visitor Experience department. This apprenticeship is aligned with Wellcome Collection’s goal to develop their teams and their practice in the pursuit of their vision, by providing targeted recruitment towards those who may never have thought a career within the cultural sector as something that was viable to them.

Bradley Dean was Wellcome Collection’s first apprentice joining our team when he was 19 years old, he gained a Distinction in Customer Service Level 2 2018. Bradley went on to attend the Courtauld Institute where he was awarded a BA hons in Art History. He continues to work in the museum and gallery sector, currently in a commercial gallery setting.

Cost:

• M25 Consortium members receive one free Leadership/Directors’ Briefing place per institution per year (this is the second briefing of the year for 2022-23). Additional places cost £75
• Non-M25 Consortium members £112.50

To book a place please use our online booking form, remembering to include your PO number if applicable.

*Please note that bookings will close at 5pm on Wednesday 12th July.*

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations less than one week before the event will be charged a 50% cancellation fee.
In the event of a ‘no-show’ on the day, the full fee will be charged.

Information for joining this session

This session is offered in-person to facilitate networking, though if you prefer to join online only, please indicate when you book using the ‘special requests’ field on the booking form. If your booking has been confirmed, joining instructions will be emailed to you on the 12th July.

*Please note that registration for this event has now closed*