Newport-based specialist recruitment and training provider Acorn is celebrating the success of five Acorn students who are the first to complete a Foundation Degree in Applied Professional Practice at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

The five Acorn students, employed in a variety of locations in South Wales, Shaun Guy, Marianne Hurford, James Pepper, Gemma Richards and Ian Smith, began the course in 2013 and are the first cohort to have successfully completed the course, graduating this month at St David’s Hall.

Acorn and Cardiff Met joined forces to launch this work based learning degree at the University in 2013. The partnership between Acorn and Cardiff Met is the first of its kind in Wales and was undertaken over the course of two years.

The Foundation Degree, which was delivered by Acorn and accredited by Cardiff Met’s Centre for Work Based Learning and the Cardiff School of Management, was launched to develop the group of Managers and Director’s professional skills and encompassed a varied curriculum, including modules on organisational culture and management of people and accountability.

Helena Williams, corporate development director for Acorn, said: “This is the first time we have worked with teaching and knowledge transfer at a higher education level so the culmination of the course marks a new and exciting venture for our experienced Training Division.”

The course was specifically designed to be flexible, which allowed all of the students to continue working whilst having a tailored schedule that suited them.

Helena said: “We all worked extremely hard to make sure the delivery of the Foundation Degree was professional and ensured that all participants’ experience was to the highest level. The content of the course was up-to-date in theory with plenty of real-life examples, showing how to put these into practice.

“All the participants who undertook the course worked really hard over the duration of the course to achieve their qualification and we are confident that they will make great contributions to their respective companies as a result of their newly developed skills.”

Fiona Argent, manager for The Centre for Work Based Learning at Cardiff Met, said: “We worked closely with Acorn to ensure the curriculum was suited to different business needs and could be applied to real life situations. We are extremely proud of those who completed the course and hope the interest in the Degree continues, ultimately becoming a benchmark for University level work-based learning in Wales. ”