April Apprentice of the Month
Antonia Banjo
Digital Learning Designer
We’re delighted to announce that Antonia Banjo, Digital Learning apprentice at Rolls-Royce SMR Limited, is our LDN Apprentice of the Month for March!
Nominated by Skills Coach Frazer Worthington, Antonia is a Digital Learning Designer apprentice and has made an exceptional impact from the very start of her apprenticeship. Through her innovative redesign of the onboarding journey, she has transformed induction into a fully digital, inclusive learning experience that has delivered significant business value, strong engagement and a measurable return on investment.
Explore all of our fantastic April nominations, along with Antonia’s winning submission and amazing feedback from her line manager, Dave Bennett, below 👇
Antonia’s Skills Coach:
Antonia has made a stellar start to her role at Rolls-Royce by helping redesign and contribute to the improvement of the onboarding process. She received high praise across the company for her work and the expertise she's shown in taking the new learning experience to a whole new level. Now this is where things get very interesting.... Antonia's company has calculated that due to her redesign of the onboarding journey, shifting to a digital focus rather than face-to-face training, employees have clawed back six hours per week and saved the company an estimated £76,000 in costs. She's received such high praise for her work that she won the appreciation award, whilst collecting 70% feedback from her target audience. Typically, feedback on courses can be quite tricky, but the employees who experienced her new onboarding pathway felt compelled to share their high praise.
She showed her DLD thinking early on and achieved huge results for her company by showing a curious and innovative mindset. Antonia is consistently proving that her proactive and experimental approach to digital learning design is not only developing excellent learning experiences but also returning a huge ROI. All of this momentum comes down to her enthusiasm and persistence to add value to her role.
Antonia’s line manager:
How have they improved/impacted the business and the team since they started their apprenticeship?
Antonia hit the ground running from day one, picking up the content authoring tools that we utilise with no prior experience and quickly put this knowledge into practice by revolutionising our induction. Delivering a face-to-face format each week was becoming challenging to run and posed an even greater future challenge as the business scales in size. Antonia uplifted the induction into a digital format, which is assigned to new colleagues when they start. The induction has extremely positive feedback, with the course averaging 4.5 stars overall! They love the interactivity of the course and users have found that all their accessibility needs have been addressed without having to ask for them. This format has had a wider positive business impact as it ensures a more inclusive approach to induction, as individuals no longer have to travel. It has also reduced costs in the business in terms of travel and no longer requiring delivery colleagues to be on-site but more importantly, it has allowed a new freedom for colleagues to start on any day of the week.
What three words best describe them? (Please give an example/expand on each)
Creative – Antonia will make every effort to research a tool before its application, making sure it is the right product for the learning experience. Antonia will always ask questions to ensure that no stone is unturned in creating bespoke and engaging learning experiences by using instructional videos and gamification to deliver the content.
Bold – Antonia will step out of her comfort zone to try something new. She has taken the opportunity to test new products, which can make learning more engaging. She is also an active member of our inclusion networks. Antonia also stepped up by delivering her first presentation with over 300 senior leaders to provide a demonstration of our digital induction experience. Antonia always meets the challenge head-on and thrives. Another great example of this is the way in which Antonia questions things. She demonstrates this boldness through her curious approach to work, never failing to ask a pertinent question to increase her understanding of a situation
Impactful – Antonia contributes greatly to her work as a Digital Learning Designer, but also to the wider Development & Capability team. She’s happy to get involved in any task and support others where needed. The work Antonia has carried out on our Digital Inductions so far has been incredible, and she is always speaking to Subject Matter Experts in the business to make future improvements and keep the content as up to date as possible. An example of an outstanding piece of work, project or task they have worked on
An example of an outstanding piece of work, project or task they have worked on.
Aside from the Digital Inductions, Antonia has also been involved with outreach, including Nuclear Week in Parliament, promoting apprenticeships as a pathway for people to learn and upskill themselves. Most recently, Antonia had the opportunity to attend Downing Street for a historic moment as the contracts were officially signed between Rolls-Royce SMR and Great British Energy for Nuclear, signalling a huge step towards a net-zero future. Antonia spoke with Members of Parliament about apprenticeships and her experiences since joining Rolls-Royce SMR.
Here’s what was said about the other brilliant nominees:
Mya Clayden @ BBC
Mya has been nothing short of a model apprentice and although this is what we have seen on the outside, in our discussions at PR's, I have been given real insight into what it has taken her to become that. Her effort and attitude towards not only her role at the BBC but also with her apprenticeship come from not only a desire to achieve but also a fear of failure. Mya makes sure she continually goes above and beyond to make sure that she feels she is doing 'enough' (which she is more than exceeding). If Mya knows she is away or has a busy time ahead, she gets ahead before that on her work to keep the pressure off when she is back. When she submits a portfolio piece or journal, she makes sure she is thorough and detailed so she feels more confident in pushing for that Distinction grade, all while being such a polite and generally wonderful person.
Feedback from Sassy, her LM at the BBC, is also consistently amazing. Mya's work ethic, how she handles projects and people around her and the work she is producing is already that of an established member of the team, not someone who is learning as they go and all of this is happening, in two languages, all of the time as with Mya's role at the BBC, everything has to be produced in both English and Welsh for their audience.
These are just some of the reasons why I would like to nominate Mya for this month’s AotM.
Erin Daly @ Bloomsbury
Erin is an astounding apprentice, still only 19, and yet performing at such a high level already, and showing the publishing world the way, in being an exceptional non-grad in a predominantly graduate world. Her line managers said last time we met: ‘Erin is brilliant as ever’ and ‘Erin continues to excel’. We all scored her efforts a wonderful 10/10!!! She is trusted by colleagues, she takes initiative, she works well without supervision, she has an instinct about what to prioritise, and she juggles apprenticeship work and the day job with aplomb. She supports her colleagues, dropping everything if urgent matters crop up, as recently happened around the announcement of the new Sarah J Maas titles. Her apprenticeship work shows mature insight and reflection. She has just volunteered to be a mentor to new apprentices on our pathway. With all of this, she is quietly unassuming, enthusiastic and eager to learn.
Freddie Hicks @ UK Finance Limited
When he started at UK Finance in January, Freddie hit the ground running and has consistently outperformed expectations, not just as an apprentice but also what you would expect of a more established graduate professional with years of experience under their belt. He is incredibly quick on the uptake, technically gifted and very eager to learn as much as he can.
His technical skills, diligence and attention to detail have made him a valued and reliable team member, who carries out his tasks efficiently and to a high standard. This means he is often the first name on his colleagues’ lips when they have a new piece of work that requires technical skills.
One of Freddie’s main achievements is to create a template for a new data publication. This project has since evolved from a relatively simple “data dashboard” into a new annual flagship publication, which will showcase UK Finance’s data and analytical assets, promote its brand name and potentially generate a new revenue stream.
(And with a small side note, Freddie has shown true resilience this year, as a loyal season ticket holder for West Ham FC, where he has endured a very tough season. However, he has never faltered from going to as many games as possible, and still has hope for the future. A true star overall, and worthy of being AOTM even just for his sheer unwavering loyalty to his beloved team.)
Zoe Ntokozo Mhlanga @ Central London Community Healthcare Trust
Zoe's endless smiles, professionalism and enthusiasm inspire her colleagues, managers and external partners since she began the apprenticeship. She has embraced and exceeded every challenge she has come across, navigating complex issues in the community as well as finely balancing her own workload. She brings really valuable contributions to every live session, helping practitioners in hospital trusts identify with shared sustainability goals in community care and the NHS as a whole. She has encouraged and developed innovative ways for colleagues to chat socially, sometimes for the first time since Covid.
Zoe continually ventures outside of her comfort zone with her portfolio, recently demonstrating her compassion and care for patients who have been flooded in and around Grenfell. She identified future flood risk areas across the borough and brought a nursing voice into future infrastructure planning and cost savings from disruptions. Zoe also explored air and noise pollution within a marginalised traveller community, providing new opportunities for discussion by meeting and caring for people where they are. Her collaborative work is helping with several strategic goals to reduce health inequalities, achieve preventative care, increase inclusion of the community and sustainable, early intervention models of care.
Kate Preston - Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
Kate is an excellent example of what a committed and reflective apprentice looks like. Working for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, she operates in a fairly isolated role, often leading on digital learning largely on her own. Despite this, the work she produces is consistently thoughtful, high‑quality and well considered. Her portfolio work and learning journals are always strong, with excellent reflection and clear links between theory and practice. Kate takes real care over what she produces, frequently going above and beyond the level required, not because she has to, but because she wants to understand why things are done in a particular way and how to make learning genuinely effective and fit for purpose.
Kate has shown remarkable independence and resilience throughout her apprenticeship journey. Having originally taught herself the tools needed, she now confidently leads on developing digital learning content and systems, often in challenging circumstances with limited stakeholder engagement and support. She continually adapts, problem‑solves and finds solutions, whether that is navigating complex information, experimenting with new approaches to content design, or persisting when feedback and recognition are hard to come by. Kate’s commitment to her own development, her learners, and the quality of learning across the organisation is unwavering, and she consistently delivers excellent work in an environment that requires self‑direction, perseverance and professionalism.
Imogen Head @ Wokingham Borough Council
Imogen is a keen and motivated apprentice with a passion for creating marketing material. She is extremely creative and her portfolio pieces demonstrate this along with her keen eye for detail. Her journals and portfolio work are always of a great quality and she puts 100% into her work. Some feedback from her LM: " A standout piece of work is the video Imogen has led to update residents and stakeholders on progress made in the first year of the Autism Strategy. Starting from a blank page, she identified relevant people and projects, created a feedback form to gather achievements and followed up with calls where gaps remained, engaging stakeholders across the NHS, local charities and other council teams. Imogen recognised progress across all of the strategy's key objectives and recommended structuring the video accordingly. She produced a clear brief for an external videographer, supported contributors, reviewed footage and ensured the final video clearly informs and reassures. The video will be shared across council-owned channels and partner networks to maximise reach and impact."