Here at ADI, we wanted to celebrate National Adult Learners Week 2022 by highlighting the brilliant ADI employees who have pursued education, CPD and personal development courses alongside full-time employment. As a company, we champion everyday learning and want our employees to feel as though they are part of a working environment in which they can develop as both professionals and people.
There are a number of areas that we care deeply about, three of which we will be shining a light on this week: Personal Development, Learning Culture and Apprenticeships.
Personal Deveopment
Our Organisational and Personal Development initiatives have been launched to help individual employees and teams achieve their professional goals. Through in-house training and external training providers, we currently cover topics such as leadership, emotional intelligence & wellbeing, stress management and mental health. At the moment, we have 18 ADI employees, all of whom are either emerging or senior leaders, on ILM Accredited courses. Ten of these are on the Level 2 Certificate in Team Leading and the other 8 studying for the Level 4 Leadership & Management Award through the Total Excellence Centre. The courses are part-funded by the European Social Fund and provides the option to utilise other courses in the future.
“The ILM accredited Leadership course has been a challenging but rewarding experience. I appreciate being at an organisation that invests in the professional and personal development of its employees, and this course has made me think differently, challenge my approach to line-management and improve my leadership skills."
Supporting mental health
Alongside an investment into personal development, ADI are fully committed towards creating a mentally healthy workplace. With a focus on providing stress relief mechanisms, improving emotional intelligence, and empowering employees to speak openly about their mental health, we have been hosting a range of in-house courses over the past 18 months. Four of our employees are now fully qualified Mental Health First Aiders, equipping them with the knowledge to identify those who require mental health support and the confidence to offer assistance inside or outside of the workplace, when required. Advanced Microsoft Excel courses have also been delivered to nine employees throughout the business, which has received positive feedback.
Learning Culture
AT ADI, our employees are encouraged to innovate, disrupt the norm and push the envelope of creative LED solutions. To do this, we try to instill a strong learning culture and growth mindset. We don’t want people to stand still and so we offer paid time off to sit exams, prep for assignments, attend graduations etc. This has led to many employees pursuing Higher Education alongside their full-time roles, for example, our Senior Engineer, Tony Pinder, recently completed a Master’s in Digital Technology Solutions through Manchester Metropolitan University, while our Head of Business Operations Abby Heyes has just completed her Master’s in Law. ADI’s HR Manager Leanne Hamblett explains how learning culture is a fundamental part of the company values.
“The skills and knowledge our people have are what makes ADI such an exciting place. It is the development, expansion and sharing of these skills and knowledge areas that help ADI continue to be the innovative and agile business we are. As an organisation we recognise the importance of supporting our teams and individuals in learning new skills, new technologies and new behaviours, and strive to provide an environment where people can ask for, and are routinely offered, development training to enhance their career.”
Apprenticeships
As a business that sits at the heart of the Lancashire community, we value giving opportunities to those still in education or at the start of their professional careers. ADI work closely with North-West based colleges and universities such as UCLAN and Salford to offer paid freelance opportunities within our Studios and Live divisions, as well as work experience opportunities. Since 2017, we have welcomed more than 11 apprentices into a variety of departments, including finance, project management, operations and electrical installations. 17-year-old Preston College student Zayn is the most recent example, after he enjoyed a six-week summer internship within the IT department. Zayn immersed himself in all areas and was able to sharpen his skills in a real-life, fast-paced working environment. We have also facilitated several work experience placements in the Live and Studios divisions this summer.
HR Advisor Louise Parry has recently completed a two year apprenticeship in Human Resource Support, accredited by the CIPD, with the University Centre at Blackburn College.
We also provide real-world live broadcast opportunities to students based at local colleges and universities as part of our Matchday Services offering, working from our in-house Production Galleries to create, manage and deliver content to our clients’ screens and digiBOARDS during a matchday. This is a paid role and offers fantastic entryways into a live broadcast environment, where many have progressed into full-time employment. There are more than 20 students currently working within our Matchday Operations team and, within the last five years, over 10 students have been offered full-time employment within the business and remain with us today.
“Over the years, ADI has put a lot of effort into forging strong links with a number of colleges and universities in order to offer work experience, internships, apprenticeships and paid freelance opportunities to students and graduates. The Studios Division offers full in-house training and we enjoy helping students develop their skills inside a live production gallery setting - lots of which progress into full-time roles with us. As I look around the team today, many of our technical operators, producers and editors all joined us straight out of university and are now a key part of what we do. Lots have gone on to progress in their careers away from ADI too, with the most recent success stories being two producers landing full-time positions with Manchester City and Manchester United. Handing out opportunities and developing people is something we should be extremely proud of as an organisation.”
