February Apprentice of the Month
Kaylah Jackson-Clayton
Multi-Channel Marketer
We are pleased to announce that Kaylah Jackson-Clayton at BBC as our LDN Apprentice of the Month for February!
Nominated by LDN Skills Coach Alex Ramsden, with fantastic feedback from her line manager Oran Soffair, Kaylah has shown exceptional growth in confidence and speed, becoming a trusted pair of hands in Publishing across Masterbrand, BBC iPlayer and BBC Three.
Check out all of our brilliant nominations for February LDN Apprentice of the Month, along with Kaylah’s winning nomination and fantastic feedback from her line manager, Oran Soffair, below! 👇
Kaylah’s Skills Coach:
Kaylah has shown exceptional development over recent months, with clear growth in both speed and confidence. This has enabled her to take on publishing responsibilities for three concurrent campaigns across Masterbrand, iPlayer and BBC Three. Beyond her day-to-day responsibilities, Kaylah has proactively volunteered for additional opportunities outside the core scope of her role, joining the BBC Apprentice Community Committee and stepping in as a producer/presenter on the 2026 Podcast Team. This commitment to widening her experience is excellent professional development and will not only strengthen her apprenticeship but also enhance her future career prospects.
Kaylah’s line manager:
How have they improved/impacted the business and the team since they started their apprenticeship?
Kaylah has quickly become a trusted pair of hands in Publishing, taking on real responsibility across high-profile campaigns and helping us maintain consistent, compliant output at pace. In the last month alone, she published 61 pieces of content across titles including Blue Lights, Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Race Across the World, and since the last feedback session, she’s delivered 166 pieces while supporting multiple concurrent campaigns across Masterbrand, iPlayer and BBC Three.
What three words best describe them? (Please give an example/expand on each)
Proactive: Kaylah regularly spots where she has capacity and steps in early, taking on additional publishing strands and keeping stakeholders updated without being chased
Reliable: Her work is consistently accurate and compliant; she follows the process carefully, keeps the schedule moving, and can be depended on during busy periods
Thoughtful: She seeks creative/editorial feedback when needed (e.g., on thumbnails and messaging), and shows good judgement about what’s appropriate for BBC output, balancing speed with care and reputational awareness
An example of an outstanding piece of work, project or task they have worked on.
A standout example is Kaylah’s delivery across three concurrent campaigns spanning Masterbrand, iPlayer and BBC Three. She managed competing priorities, built schedules responsibly, and published at volume while maintaining quality—166 pieces of content since the last session—alongside expanding her skills into YouTube thumbnails. She’s also demonstrated strong BBC judgement: after becoming BBC staff, she stepped back from a request to appear on BBC London News, recognising the policy and reputational considerations. That combination of delivery, collaboration and maturity is exactly what we want to see as she prepares to spend time with the Campaigns team.
Here’s what was said about the other brilliant nominees:
Emily Hailes @ Nexus
Emily has been nothing short of exemplary since joining the CR&S Programme. She has gone about her targets and coursework with never a drama and always hitting them consistently, to a very high standard and with an unflappable drive and determination.
Some of the main achievements she has completed since being on the course include:
Producing an annual report on their Corporate Responsibility, including reporting on their Gender Pay Gap
Co-organising several events at Nexus to promote CR&S, including a food festival for National Inclusion Week, a fundraising event to raise money for King's Trust to celebrate International Women's Day, and a public forum event on Climate Change
Working on initiatives such as World Car Free Day with Newcastle Council, Green Jobs promotion, apprenticeship options with Sunderland College, and an updated Ferry Strategy looking towards zero emissions vessels and operation.
Organising and managing several work placements for visiting students from local schools to promote CR&S
Becca Powell @ Harborough District Council
Becca consistently brings positivity and enthusiasm to every masterclass, inspiring those around her. She’s genuinely passionate about giving young people a voice in decision-making and brings that same commitment into her apprenticeship. Becca constantly applies what she learns on the apprenticeship, to her role, using her new skills to make a real difference for the young people she supports. Even with a busy workload, she approaches everything with dedication, warmth, and enthusiasm. Her hard work, passion, and positive attitude truly shine through in everything she does, making her a fantastic choice for Apprentice of the Month.
Ellie Bye @ Wiley
Ellie joined the apprenticeship scheme a year into her role to fill gaps in her broader understanding of publishing. Ellie has seized the opportunity with both hands. She has for example investigated AI both in Wiley and across competitors, and found herself able to talk confidently in meetings with external clients about this. All her work has been thorough, reflective and enthusiastic. She loves to debate a topic, and has worked closely with other apprentices in-person and online. Her manager Rachel scored her a brilliant 10 at the last Progress Review, saying she is innovative, delivering and a huge support.
Matt Barber @ University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Matt has been a complete Sustainability dynamo from day 1 of the apprenticeship. He has flown through his training plan activities, picking up a range of project management and sustainability skills, instantly applying to his portfolio pieces and getting approval from his department to proceed with projects. His enthusiasm is abundant and also encourages other Sustainability apprentices at his Trust. Matt's portfolio is shining with creative ideas and goes beyond his role, continuously gaining interest and approval from colleagues on wards, in catering and external suppliers to name a few.
Shalom Quarmyne @ BBC
Shalom has recently joined 5 months ago whilst in placement with the BBC. From month 1, she has been nothing short of a superstar - always been on top of her apprenticeship work, currently has delivered 3 portfolio pieces and each of them have been nailed first time, needing no revisions or additions. Shalom’s journals are always well detailed with her learnings and ipacr and the feedback from her line manager Ben has shown that she has been growing from strength to strength within the BBC and has recently been working on creating video content for Dragons Den (love that show). Shalom shows all the values the we love to see from an apprentice at LDN and this is why I feel she would be a worthy winner for AotM this month.
Farhan Mohammed @ Softcat
Farhan started his apprenticeship at the end of October and has continued to excel with every area of his apprenticeship, ranging from completing learning/activities, detailed journals, making excellent progress on his 1st assignment and all done in a timely manner. He regularly reaches out and asks questions and is engaging in Live Sessions. Farhan has also received some excellent feedback from his line manager as he continues his apprenticeship journey at Softcat. A fantastic effort so far as he he showcases all the factors we like our apprentices to have. Without doubt a choice for the apprentice of the month.
Manuella Sales @ Amazon
Manu has shown exceptional ownership of her apprenticeship, self-identifying gaps in exposure within her role and showing professionalism and confidence beyond her years by taking it upon herself to speak with her team, arrange meetings, and plan for opportunities to address these gaps despite knowing she could have just handed this off to me. Manu came to me fully prepared with how she will be addressing area's for growth, and I am very proud of you for taking this on. Manu works across countries in a world-wide organisation (Amazon), something that would terrify the best of us, but she does it well and does it confidently.