Andrew Cooksley, Managing Director, ACT Training


Finalist: Leadership success through partnership to develop skills in the workplace or community

ACT is Wales’ largest training provider, delivering training for a range of skills frameworks in sectors including teaching assistants, engineering, healthcare, IT, animal care, administration, retailing, manufacturing and customer care.

Through Schools Assist, which is a branch of ACT, Andrew has improved school life for both pupils and teachers across Cardiff by boosting the training for teaching assistants and helping Cardiff Advisory Service for Education (CASE) to develop a structured career path for the teaching assistants.

Andrew helped increase the number of teaching assistants in Cardiff’s 136 schools from 460 in 2000 to 2,300 in 2008, and it is predicted that in 2009 there will be 4000. CASE did not have the capacity or funding to be able to provide training for teaching assistants. By obtaining funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, Andrew made it possible for the teaching assistants to gain the qualifications they needed, without it being a cost to them or their school, opening numerous job opportunities.

A proactive stance was taken by Andrew to ensure that training was provided for those who did not have a permanent job. Throughout the challenge, he remained enthusiastic endeavouring to monitor progress in order to provide the best possible service to those taking part and the schools themselves.

As a result of Andrew’s work, CASE and Schools Assist have developed a true partnership which will benefit pupils, teachers and the teaching assistants.

Tell us something your colleagues don’t know about you?

I used to work for a celebrity florist in LA

Who inspires you?

My wife Caroline

What is your top leadership tip?

Realising that the biggest asset for any organisation is the right people and the worst asset is the wrong people!