The Juice Academy Awarded National Certificate of Excellence

The Juice Academy, the UK’s first industry-led social media apprenticeship programme, has been recognised for its outstanding training of apprentices with a National Certificate of Excellence.

The matrix Standard is a certification that is only awarded to organisations with the highest quality training for apprentices.

Following a rigorous assessment – which included face-to-face interviews with seven apprentices and three Academy partners – The Juice Academy passed all 27 matrix criteria and was awarded the excellence Standard, along with overwhelmingly positive feedback.

Pat McDermott, who assessed The Juice Academy on behalf of the matrix Standard, said: “It was clear throughout the assessment that The Juice Academy maintains a culture in which its mission and values are not just statements, but they are lived and breathed by staff in their day-to-day operations.

“The commitment to upholding key principles such as impartiality, equality, diversity, confidentiality, and the professional integrity of staff, was demonstrated throughout the assessment. Moreover, the commitment from partners - such as members of The Juice Academy Advisory Panel, including William Lees Jones from JW Lees Brewery – has enabled the programme to develop into an industry leading offering.”

After passing the matrix Standard with flying colours, The Juice Academy will now display the accreditation logo on its marketing collateral, to reflect the excellent levels of service that it offers its apprentices.

The Juice Academy, the brainchild of Tangerine PR, was set up a year ago to address youth unemployment and fill an industry-wide social media skills gap.

Since its inception it has created nearly 60 jobs for young people by training them in the practical application of social media.

Lucy Adams, senior project co-ordinator, commented: “To be recognised by such a challenging accreditation for our commitment to providing the utmost quality service to our apprentices, team and employers, is a significant achievement which we are all extremely proud of.”

To date, one hundred percent of The Juice Academy’s first cohort of apprentices have been offered full time, permanent employment.

The achievement comes the same week as winning the Creative and Digital Skills category at the Skills for Business Awards.