Mike Meyers (author of the Comptia A+ Series) flew from all the way from Houston, Texas USA and visited our Milton Keynes academy on Friday 26th October 2012. The event was a resounding success. Mike being the showman that he is gave a captivating talk to apprentices from St Albans, Milton Keynes and Bedford NiTP academies. We would like to thank Mike for his time spent with us and we hope to have Mike on our shores again soon.

Jane Mitchell who is the Programme Manager for Accounting Academy Partnership, recently took on a Triathlon to raise funds for Cancer Research UK and so far has managed to raise over £500 with donations still coming in.
Her challenge was to compete in the Virgin London Triathlon at the Olympic Distance. This gruelling event consists of a 1500 metre swim in Victoria Docks, a 40 km bike round around Canary Wharf and a 10 km run along the docks.
‘I only started running last Autumn as I was a heavy smoker up until 2 ½ years ago, so for me I was just looking to finish the event, to enjoy it, and hopefully inspire others that it is not too late to take up a challenge’
Jane intends to continue competing in triathlons next year and has set herself a target to reduce her time from 3hrs 26 to around 2hrs 50 by the end of next season.

The Accounting Academy Partnership are pleased to report excellent results for the Association of Accounting Technicians qualifications within their current academies.
Level 2  93% retention, 96% achievement
Level 3  93% retention, 84% achievement
Complete level 4 data will not be available until the end of year when the first two cohorts complete.  Exam results so far on two assessments are looking very promising with a cumulative first time pass rate of 80% which is 5% higher than the AAT national average.
These excellent results are mainly due to the combined efforts of our highly focused learners along with the dedication and skill of our Accounting trainers – so well done to all!

We are lucky enough to have Mike Meyers deliver a session around the value of certification and how it helps employability and new Technology in the IT space.
Mike Meyers, CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, MCP, is the bestselling author of six editions of CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide and several other computer books. He is the president and founder of Total Seminars, LLC, a major provider of PC and network repair seminars for thousands of organizations throughout the world, and a member of CompTIA.

Stafford based computer software firm Connexica, following a year of impressive growth, has announced their second recruitment this month, a new apprentice to work within their customer support function.
Connexica, whose Business Intelligence solution CXAIR has implementations across UK, US, Europe and the Middle East, have brought on board a new apprentice Sam Paterson, to provide further technical support to customers.
Alongside the on the job training, Sam will also undergo formal training through the NITP IT Academy.
This is the start of a youth recruitment program that Connexica have launched to provide local youth with accessible and extremely valuable work experience from highly experienced, industry experts to give young people a path into work. With youth unemployment reaching 2.56 million as of August 2012, giving young people an opportunity to succeed is a priority for Connexica.
Kevin Strachan, Operations Manager at Connexica says, “We are delighted to announce the launch of our youth recruitment program in the hope that we can provide job opportunities to young people. Apprenticeships are an excellent way for young people to learn within the workplace alongside gaining formal qualifications and we are delighted due to our success to be able to offer these opportunities. Therefore, we are delighted to welcome Sam to our team at Connexica as part of our continued commitment to provide excellent service to our customers.”
This news comes just two weeks after recruiting Staffordshire University student Ben Edge, on a one year marketing apprenticeship and now, even with Sam joining the team, they are still looking to enhance and commit to their youth recruitment program by offering another apprenticeship position within their Sales & Marketing department as a Marketing Analyst. For further information on this role please contact Connexica at info@connexica.com