One of the businesses we are thrilled to have struck up a successful relationship with recently is HAM, situated relatively close to us on the borders of Herefordshire and Shropshire. HAM is a highly original brand of homeware and gift products featuring the distinctive silhouette of Rabbit, whose adventures and escapades are brought to life by Fine Arts-trained, inspirational founder Jo Ham.

After leaving Oxford’s Ruskin College with a BFA, Jo took the unusual step of opting to work not in the arts environment but with a leading London-based marketing  agency as a graduate trainee. It was a smart move as Jo took on training assignments across the business’ various marketing disciplines. She developed some great contacts and learned exactly what it meant to build a successful brand. Jo also praises her agency employer for having an enlightened, very positive approach to training  young talent – something that has stuck with her.

But then Jo was diagnosed with a serious medical condition and had to take time out to recover. During her illness she took up sketching again – with a little Rabbit emerging as a protagonist and mouthpiece for positive musings on the world around her. Once fully recovered  she returned to her marketing role but the creative itch had been scratched and within a year she had left the agency, established a studio and set up HAM. She launched her new range of Rabbit-themed ceramics and fabrics via a pop-up shop in Carnaby St, London, with a highly-successful publicity campaign.

That was the take-off Jo’s company needed which recently marked its 10^th anniversary. It has been a stunning success. Her first collection was picked up by Liberty and her product range is now sold in over 30 countries via more than 250 stockists. In addition Jo has created bespoke Rabbit artwork for such leading brands as The Body Shop, Mini, Moncler, Eurostar and Nike.

So how does Riverside Training fit in? Jo remembered the great impact that her early in-house training had on her. She had spotted a talent within her own company, Ellie, who had joined as a studio assistant and quickly shown great leadership potential. Jo was keen to fast track Ellie through the business and felt targeted training could be of huge benefit to her professional development.  A mutual contact put Jo in touch with Riverside founder Jane Preston and a conversation turned into a bespoke Apprenticeship programme being created for Ellie in Operations Management Level 5. The aim would be to up-skill Ellie for a senior management role within the company.

Jo is impressed with how the programme is going and sees some clear advantages to Apprenticeship training. Firstly, the cost of the course is 95% funded by the Government, which makes it very accessible for SMEs. Secondly it allows Ellie to train on the job. Jo runs a lean team of five and so to lose a staff member to a degree course would have a big impact on everyone’s workload. Thirdly the Apprenticeship course is not a theoretical piece of study – it is applied, drawing upon Ellie’s own work responsibilities. Ellie brings all her learning straight back into the workplace and adds tangible value to the company. For example, utilising her course knowledge Ellie has been able to draw up Personal Development Plans for team members and project-lead the creation of a new studio, using the experience as a case study for her course submissions.

Jo then talks about the role Riverside has played in supporting her and Ellie. The dedicated course tutor Alix, is just brilliant, striking up a great rapport and getting the best out of Ellie. Plus, Jo gets timely feedback and reporting on progress to keep her engaged with the programme without having to oversee it. But perhaps the most welcome help is that Alix and the wider Riverside team have managed all the logistical side of things – liaising with Government departments, processing data needs, managing contact with all necessary parties.

As well as servicing the needs of over 250 retailers worldwide, HAM offers its product lines via their website with all fulfilment and customer service managed in-house. The studio is always busy but it’s so important we find time for professional development. Having Riverside on hand to help get our people better-qualified is great she shares.

Jo’s plans for the future are very exciting. Licensing deals are very much on the horizon where there’s a synergistic brand fit. New product lines are constantly being developed and it seems highly likely that Rabbit will translate into new media formats which could see the brand explode with new possibilities. More success will inevitably mean the team will have to grow and the business will need people in place appropriately skilled to take on new responsibilities. Jo’s  sure she’ll be calling upon Riverside Training to help HAM even more in delivering the critical people training and development that the company will need down the line.

We’ll say yes to that!

To check out the Rabbit product lines follow this link to the HAM website.

Recently we had an interview with Claire Cooper-McQueen, Practice Manager, at Tupsley Dental Practice, based here in Hereford. The Practice is jointly owned by Rob Masters and Mark Worthing whose father established the business some 50 years ago. It’s a real family-run affair and the business is well-loved amongst Hereford folk because people respect the close, loyal relationships that have become established over the years with the dental team at Tupsley.

The business has grown steadily and now employs 25 people serving over 2500 patients.  A full range of dental expertise is available, so much so that several of the dentists also teach at university or serve at major dental hospitals too. Whilst many dental procedures are available to the patients, it actively promotes oral hygiene and preventative treatments.

So, it’s a thriving, successful and well-respected dental health facility but how did the Practice get involved in Apprenticeship training? Claire explained that they took on their first two Apprentices around 5 years ago who both successfully qualified as Dental nurses and are still working and enjoying their careers at Tupsley DP and one has since passed her Radiography Scope of Practice. It was a positive experience and when two new dentists were appointed in recent times, there was a need to support them with dedicated nurses, so new recruits were needed.  The problem was that the qualified nursing resource pool within Hereford is limited (in fact this is a problem on a national scale too), therefore it was decided to take on 2 new Apprentices again and to develop the staff that way.

And how was Riverside chosen as their new training provider? Quite simply Claire found our details on the Government’s approved list of training providers (RoATP), made contact and was impressed with the response. Special praise was reserved for Riverside’s Rebecca McLauchlan who acted as account manager and who always responded promptly and positively. Not only did she succinctly explain the processes to secure Government funding, but she ensured that Tupsley was totally supported throughout. So Riverside sourced and screened two new candidates for the apprenticeships and then a third when one candidate decided the role wasn’t for her. The trainees are now fully integrated into the Practice team and are confidently expected to successfully qualify as Tupsley’s latest Dental Nurses. Thus, demonstrating the Riverside Apprenticeship mantra of Learn, Earn, Career Upturn!

Claire confirmed that the learners are finding the course interesting and varied and, from Tupsley’s point of view, it covers everything necessary.   The tutors are great, friendly and experienced and communication is good.   Riverside’s training model is based on remote learning and Claire recognises that the virtual application does work well for uploading work, monitoring progress etc. Plus, the format has been successful in a covid-ravaged environment. That said  Claire believes her learners would prefer some in-person  training too to create a more empathetic relationship – a bit like the Practice itself offers.

Speaking of covid, Claire said that they too had to close down for around two months in 2019 to protect staff and patients from the risk of catching the virus – the only time the Practice has closed its doors in all of its history.  But once re-opened the Practice caught up on a backlog of appointments relatively quickly and is now operating at full pace again.

From a personal point of view Claire explained that she joined Tupsley 10 years ago as a receptionist and immediately felt at home as an important member of the team. She especially enjoyed the close bond that exists with the patients many of whom have been going there for years. With her background in management, it wasn’t long before she assumed greater responsibility at the business ultimately being appointed Practice Manager, a role she feels perfectly suits her skills.

Finally, we asked Claire about future plans at Tupsley DP.  They would certainly pursue more staff training via Apprenticeships however the current premises are at optimal usage levels, so recruitment of more staff is not immediately possible. But we at Riverside Training will be ready to help Tupsley when your plans develop Claire.

If you’ve been inspired by Claire’s career achievements, you may be interested to know that Riverside Training is about to offer an Apprenticeship qualification to prepare candidates for the role of Dental Practice Manager. Keep checking the Qualifications section  of our website for more details.

For further information on the Tupsley Dental Practice itself, just follow this link to their website.

It was great to catch up recently with Martine Samuel-Maher, the Group People Operations Manager for the company Select, which is a Premium Reseller of the complete range of Apple products, service repairs and solutions for consumers, businesses and educational institutions across the UK and Ireland.  The company employs more than 300 people and offers a network of 29 stores across Ireland and UK to provide Apple expertise and support locally as well as online via selectonline.com.

Martine explained that the company was formed by the merger 3 years ago of two businesses, Compu B and Stormfront, which have been united under a new brand identity – Select.  It became apparent that the UK arm of the organisation was levy-paying but hadn’t taken advantage of the funds to develop Apprenticeship programmes. This surprised Martine because it seemed both wasteful and out of synch with her own company’s policy of nurturing young talent. So, when Emma, one of her own UK-based team members, enquired about the possibility of becoming more highly qualified by taking an HR Apprenticeship course, Martine was entirely supportive. She encouraged Emma to research the subject and come up with some recommendations regarding the ideal course, the necessary procedures, and an appropriate training provider.

Fortunately for us, Emma chose Riverside Training, and a conversation began between Martine and our founder Jane Preston. Immediately a rapport was established, and Jane guided Martine through the rather complex procedures for claiming the funding and setting up the course. Martine found Riverside to be totally approachable, helpful, and professional. This became evident when it became apparent that the initial Level 5 HR course that Emma had embarked upon was possibly too demanding on her time. So, Jane proved instrumental in facilitating a swich to the more comfortable Level 3 course. With Martine also creating a time window for Emma to complete her course work, all parties are now confidently expecting a successful outcome.

This bodes well for the company’s ongoing relationship with Riverside Training as Martine foresees even more opportunities to exploit the levy funding and to build a larger Apprenticeship programme in the future.

As for Martine, she describes her ‘people operations’ role in the company as the perfect job. ‘No two days are ever the same and it is always interesting – I just love it’ she said. She describes herself as a masters qualified HR Generalist. She was initially a teacher based in the UK then joined an M&S graduate training programme and gravitated over to an HR Management function.  When the company opened a new store in Cork, Martine took the HR role there, met her husband and has remained in Ireland ever since.

She joined Compu b (the company’s earlier name) over 5 years ago and found it initially challenging (with very few people processes in place) but always incredibly rewarding. She is particularly proud that the company’s is passionate about education and wants to help schools, universities and colleges transform by making learning a fantastic experience. ‘We’re big on individuals and business too’, said Martine ‘and we believe every person and business has the ability to do great things. We just know that Apple products can help them realise their potential.’

Unlocking potential is what Riverside Training promises too so it feels like a great marriage of ambitions across our two organisations.  Hail to that.

To check out just some of the range of products and services available from Select just follow this link to their impressive online platform.