WALTHAM FOREST COLLEGE LEARNER WINS PRESTIGIOUS BUSINESS AND ENTERPRISE ACCOLADE AT THE 2022 BTEC AWARDS

The remarkable accomplishments of Ashanti France from Waltham Forest College was celebrated as she was awarded the prestigious bronze BTEC Award for Business and Enterprise Learner of the Year 2022.   

Ashanti, aged 19 was recognised by teachers and peers for being an exemplary member of Team Forest and driving change through her positive engagement as part of her Students’ Union role. Her passion, tenacity and willingness to help and support her peers as led to a drive-in active participation in student led enrichment activities.

Ashanti commented: “The College has supported my training and empowered me to use my voice to implement positive change. I feel I have an active role here at the College and my ambition is to further develop platforms for students to engage that leads to improved learning experience, through positive contribution”.  

Ashanti’s hard work and dedication wowed the judges, who felt they were left with no choice but to award here the Bronze Award.

Rochelle Saneria, Director of Curriculum, said “The Business Team and I are immensely proud of everything Ashanti has achieved with us at Waltham Forest College.  Since arriving in the UK a couple of years ago, Ashanti demonstrated being a dedicated and exemplar student.  In addition to exceeding with her studies, Ashanti also worked part time, a true role model to her peers.  The lecturing team found her a joy to teach and was a shining star in the group. We are so pleased to see that all of her hard work and total dedication has paid off. We look forward to seeing where Ashanti’s journey leads her onto – and we are sure that whichever company employs her, it will lead to business success and a promising future for her”. 

Award winners were recognised by Pearson in over twenty categories, including Health and Social Care, Engineering, Music, Esports and Creative Media, with each winner selected from thousands – and often tens of thousands – of eligible students. 

Freya Thomas Monk, Senior Vice President for Vocational Qualifications and Training, said: “After two long years spent giving or receiving lessons behind a computer screen, through face masks, or socially distanced, 2022 has been a whirlwind for everyone involved in education. Considering this, it makes the inspiring achievements documented in [insert name]’s submission all the more impressive. The hard work and commitment he/she/they – and all our award winners – demonstrated is extraordinary.”

Hundreds of thousands of learners across the globe have completed BTEC courses over the past year. The career-focused qualifications are a vital route for those pursuing careers in sectors such as IT, business, the creative industries, healthcare, engineering, construction and future industries.  Many of these industries, such as health and social care, engineering, and IT and computing, are suffering from chronic staff shortages and skills gaps, which this year’s cohort of graduates – whether they were Award winners or not – will be more than equipped to fill.