Director of Quality Micaela Barlow has worked in Further Education for 21 years, starting as a Programme Leader and Course Tutor in dental nursing and then delivering Early Years to pre-16s for a local college.
She experienced her first Ofsted inspection in 2004 and fell in love with the inspection regime and world of Quality from that moment on. For the last seven years, she held the position of Head of Quality at HIT Training Ltd before joining the board of directors in 2023.
Working across hospitality, management, social care and childcare, Micaela drives continual improvement of HIT’s learning delivery so that apprentices and their employers not only get a great experience from learning and engaging with HIT, C2C and EDN, but also see the benefit of the new skills and knowledge they receive and put into practice.
“Apprenticeships provide a unique way of learning and prove there are no barriers to achieving,” says Micaela. “They really are the best part of our education system.”
Micaela has steered HIT through two Grade 2 Ofsted inspections, implemented a rigorous staff development programme and introduced a SENCO lead attracting learners to HIT who would not otherwise have joined programme without additional support.
When not working, Micaela takes her Labrador dog Wilson for long walks, reads two books a week and regularly swims.