Every person deserves a chance to shape their future

Working with individuals across Calderdale who are unemployed—many of whom have been out of work for extended periods and have lost confidence in their ability to secure employment—presents distinct challenges. These participants often face multiple barriers, including health issues that prevent them from returning to previous roles, personal circumstances such as recovery from addiction, or a lack of previous opportunities. All require tailored support to rediscover their potential and develop the skills needed to re-enter the labour market, particularly within the care sector.

The partnership with Octivia has been invaluable in addressing these challenges. Their willingness to deliver training on our premises has ensured accessibility for our participants, many of whom may otherwise have been unable to attend. Feedback from all involved has been overwhelmingly positive; Octivia’s delivery style is consistently motivating and engaging, promoting an environment in which participants feel encouraged and supported.

Of particular note are the softer outcomes observed, including enhanced confidence, the development of peer support networks and meaningful friendships within the group. These outcomes are critical in sustaining participant engagement and driving long-term progress.

The impact of Octivia’s training is evident in the real-world achievements of those we have referred. One participant, inspired by the training, pursued further education in counselling and is now employed in mental health services. Another has secured a role with a local charity, supporting adults with learning disabilities at a day centre. Others have continued their journey through volunteering or by undertaking additional training, including placements within schools.

In summary, the collaborative approach with Octavia has delivered measurable benefits and transformative outcomes for our participants.

Working with Becky and the Octavia Learning team has been an outstanding experience, and the results speak for themselves. Their two-day “Volunteer Pathway to Care” training sessions generated an unprecedented level of interest among our ESOL adult students. Due to this overwhelming demand, they were highly flexible and ran additional sessions to accommodate everyone.

The quality of the training provided by Becky and her colleague Lucy was exceptional. The workshops were highly practical and the inclusion of guest speakers from local employers provided invaluable, real-world insight for our trainees.

What truly set Octavia Learning apart was Becky’s genuine dedication and commitment to the students’ next steps. Both Becky and Lucy were incredibly lovely and helpful, demonstrating a sincere care for the participants’ career progression.

Becky’s professionalism, the practical focus of the training, and their commitment to ensuring students’ progress into voluntary or paid work is exactly what makes their training so valuable for our ESOL learners. I highly recommend Octavia Learning to any organisation looking to make a measurable, positive impact on career pathways for their trainees.

Informative and practical – this course has helped hugely. Healthcare would be a better and more supportive place with this training.

The pace was great and topics covered were relevant and useful, particularly the sections on challenging limiting beliefs and coaching in a fast paced environment.

I would like to thank Becky for being a great facilitator, keeping things relaxed and for being so informative. I am feeling empowered and inspired following the training. It has been one of the most useful trainings I have been recently, with … a varied range of participants and some important conversations.

I recently attended Becky’s Skills Connect Care with Confidence training and found it incredibly useful. Becky was an excellent trainer who brought the topic to life with clear explanations and group exercises that really helped underline the understanding we were gaining from the presentation. Within a day of completing the course I found myself transferring the skills I had learned to my job role; I used the knowledge gained from the course to adjust my behaviours and approaches to certain situations accordingly – and with great success! Becky comes highly recommended.

Becky and Octavia learning worked in partnership with our health and care system to help to design and deliver our Opportunities for Refugees and Asylum Seekers – Volunteer Pathway to Care Programme. Without their input this programme would not have been possible and their commitment to making it happen was excellent. They worked with a number of partners in the health and care system to pull the programme together and they were key to it being successful and so well received by the participants.

I attended the Care with Confidence Course run by Octavia Learning in September 2024. The course content was excellent and delivered in a professional, interactive, and engaging manner. The skills and techniques covered were relevant to my work and I found applying them useful in my role.”
Steve, Director of Partnership Development, NHS West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership

Whilst working on a Prince’s Trust funded Health & Social Care employment project in 2022/23, I referred many clients to Octavia Learning’s Skills Connect Volunteer Pathway to Care. Feedback was excellent – participants felt more confident, prepared, and job-ready for interviews. Becky was responsive and extremely helpful throughout, providing bespoke one-to-one support and speaking with each client in advance to address any barriers. Octavia Learning’s tailored approach made a real difference, and I’m confident their expertise will add strong value to any future training programme or Skills Bootcamp.

Every time I speak to Becky I’m inspired by her passion for creating inclusion and diversity in a meaningful way – not just a tagline! Her wealth of experience, personal insight, and dedication combine to create focused action and tangible results. Every time we work together I’m proud to be on her team.

Working with Becky to develop Fundraising apprenticeship assessment and training has been both inspiring and a pleasure. Her approach is always collaborative with the needs of learners and their development outcomes always at the heart of the content, programmes, practices and solutions being designed. Drawing on her both her fundraising and learning and development experience Becky brings great creativity to projects, with an openness to new ideas, methods and solutions. Becky’s work is also infused with her passionate concern for identifying and supporting wider access to fundraising careers and opportunities. I can’t wait for our next project ????.

This is some of the best training I’ve ever been involved in.

Becky is a consummate professional and has led on developing and delivering an excellent strategic learning and development Plan for our Fundraising team. Becky displays exceptional leadership skills, motivating and inspiring those she works with.

At Cancer Research UK, Becky stood out at a bright, tenacious and ambitious fundraiser who thrived in a team leader role. Since leaving CRUK I have continued to work with Becky and have observed her huge contribution to the fundraising apprenticeship standard. I have no doubt about its significance for the sector and fundraising as a profession.

I had a chance to attend one of Becky’s sessions through Social Ark, and one thing about her is that she really cares about the importance of sustainable grassroots organisations getting the best possible chance at fundraising. I was unaware of the different avenues I could go for with my organisation Yucan and having it mapped out with an action plan included has given me a great headstart. Thank you, Becky!