First apprentice gets Bronze on new EKC Training Aspire to Excellence Programme

An EKC Training apprentice has become the first to achieve the Bronze Aspire to Excellence Programme, marking a significant milestone for the newly launched initiative from EKC Training.

Designed to encourage students to think beyond their studies by investing in their communities and personal wellbeing, the programme is a brand-new initiative from EKC Training, which is part of East Kent Colleges Group (EKC Group).

Ayla Payten, a Business Administration Apprentice at the Port of Dover, has achieved this milestone alongside her apprenticeship studies.

She said: “The Aspire to Excellence Programme has definitely been a great opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone even further.

“I’m now being pushed to engage with the community a bit more and actively on my own, which is something I did shy away from because I didn’t know how I could help or what to do.”

Ayla explained that the programme is broken down into a few different categories, including wellbeing and community engagement.

“So it’s broken down into a couple of different categories. Wellbeing could simply be going out for a walk and a coffee with somebody; it could be playing a sport or just going for dog walks regularly. But you have to evidence it to show that you’re taking time out for yourself,” Ayla said.

“There’s also a community section where you have to benefit your community in some way. For me, it was joining the East Kent Minds as an Ambassador.”

Thanks to her hard work, Ayla has recently achieved her Bronze in the programme and is already looking forward to working towards her silver and then gold.

“It’s been quite exciting looking at it every now and then and seeing what I have done that’s reflected into the programme,” she explained.

“It’s pushed me to join the East Kent Minds Ambassadors, so that’s been really nice and I’m looking forward to taking those next steps.

“As the apprentice, you have control over it yourself. It’s almost just giving us inspiration on different areas that we can go down.

“I also think it’s a great way of taking pride in areas that we might already do in our life. So, I’m very active in sports, and for that to play a part in the programme and get acknowledged and turned into something tangible is a really great feeling, especially in an apprenticeship that’s so work-focused.”

Sonia Carballido, Business Support Manager at the Port of Dover, said: “I’m so proud of all of our apprentices – they’ve all done amazingly well and Ayla has done a fantastic job in achieving her Bronze in the Aspire to Excellence Programme. 

“Ayla has grown in confidence, and she is going to be brilliant – she’s so dedicated and so determined, it’s fantastic.”

The Aspire to Excellence programme has been created specifically for EKC Training’s Business Administration apprentices.

Due to the nature of the apprenticeships and their remote delivery model, students may not always be able to take part in College competitions. This led to EKC Training creating the programme, which has an element of competition but also encourages social action, career development and enrichment opportunities that the apprentice leads.

Rhoda Allinson, who is the Head of Apprenticeship Department at EKC Training, said: “We are incredibly proud to see Ayla become the first apprentice to achieve the Bronze Award in our Aspire to Excellence Programme.

“This initiative was designed to give our apprentices the opportunity to grow beyond their core studies, developing their confidence, wellbeing and contribution to their communities alongside their professional skills.

“Ayla’s achievement is a fantastic example of how apprentices can take ownership of their development and truly make the most of every opportunity available to them.

“It’s inspiring to see the positive impact this programme is already having, and we look forward to celebrating many more successes as our apprentices progress through Bronze, Silver and Gold.”