“For a variety of different reasons, the College work-based learning contract increased from £1.7m to over £7.1m in just a couple of years. Recognising that we were now working in a different ‘league’ we knew that we needed to update, improve, and streamline our quality systems to ensure that they were ‘fit for purpose,’ and so engaged David to help us with this work on a 3 – 4 days per week basis.
But David has given us so much more, not only introducing new ‘up to date’ processes and procedures but working with managers and staff from across the College to ensure that they not only understand the rationale for these changes but then can, and do, apply the new processes. David has also taken the time to look at our front-end processes, as well as our planning and our business development processes to help ensure that we meet our overall contract, and in addition has worked with all areas to support progression opportunities for our existing FE students.
David is not only extremely knowledgeable about the whole of this area but is also a very positive and proactive manager and in the relatively short time that he has been with us has become very well respected by everyone, not only across the College but with our partners too – and I could not recommend him too highly.”
Mark Jones, Principal, Gower College Swansea:
“David joined the team to support with injecting some energy, bringing fresh perspective and establishing sales processes – all of which he did during his four months with us. David has a naturally collaborative style which enabled him to involve the team in process redesign around the sales and recruitment processes introducing a robust ‘talent pool’ concept that we are still using today.
David quickly identified the companies that we should be targeting and implemented a plan to start the conversations. He started a city-wide campaign that opened doors for us to talk to employers we hadn’t before – fresh thinking.
In the middle of David’s time with us we had ‘the call’ from Ofsted! David immediately switched to be my right-hand man, working tirelessly to ensure everything was co-ordinated, accessible, and that staff were prepared and briefed. He showed amazing versatility and his wide knowledge of quality processes.
David’s help was invaluable in giving us a kick-start and a focus following a period of change. He fitted in well with the team but importantly left sustainable processes that the team could drive forward themselves.”
Clare Hatton, Assistant Principal for Employer Engagement and Growth, Coventry College
“David and Karen visited us around the time of the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy. We wanted to maximise our ‘levy pot’ and understand the changes that would be made to apprenticeships in the move towards standards. We’ve successfully run an Apprenticeship for Service Technicians for almost 20 years, so it was crucial that we got it right.
David also conducted a search of the market for providers for our IT Apprenticeship for Service Technicians. He looked at 5 other providers and ultimately, we decided that our current provider was the best. However, we are now safe in the knowledge that we are getting the best service and value for money, particularly as the goalposts are changing so often within the world of apprenticeships.
David and Karen also spent time with us mapping out where apprenticeships might fit within the business, information we could give to our management team to help us drive the business forward through skills development. Their experience meant the process was very painless and incredibly helpful. David’s contacts are very good within the providers and colleges; he has helped us out informally several times when we’ve ‘hit a wall’!
I’d recommend David and Karen to other organisations wanting to review their apprenticeship and learning agenda!”
Laura Hood, Group HR Manager, Arena Group
“We had an initial meeting with David as we were looking for an independent, honest assessment of our project, current and potential work, and the areas where we could improve and plan to expand. We also wanted to look at our staffing and core business and ensure that we could continue to be successful in what we were already doing but also look to how to build our capacity and ensure we had the right number of staff and that we were not overstretched.
David was able to look at all aspects of our project and learning centre and provide the latest insight and thinking with regards to where we were at and where we needed to be, and he was also able to provide an in-depth and honest report to allow us to review all aspects of our provision and delivery, enabling us to plan for the future.
Ascolta also provide us with the latest changes and policy and funding updates in our sector which gave us the information we needed to successfully plan for continued success.”
Mark Dunne, Fire Brigades Union (FBU), Project Manager
“Ascolta has supported the Hunslet Club with development of its post-16 learning and readiness for apprenticeships and BTEC delivery. Through Ascolta, we have been introduced to other providers and potential partners.
David Gaughan and his team are knowledgeable, supportive and enthusiastic, we have benefited from their input and look forward to working with them in the future.”
Dennis Robbins, Chief Executive Officer, The Hunslet Club
“As one of our quality-assured professionals in the field of business development, David has successfully supported a number our college clients receiving outstanding feedback through a range of interim projects including business development, coaching, quality and operational delivery.
As an expert in his field David is able to translate policy and strategy into operational implementation which has delivered added value for our clients.”
Claire O’Donovan, Association of Colleges (AoC) Create
