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Celebrating Impact: Knovia Group Launches 2025 Impact Reports Across Our Brands

Posted on by Katie Stephenson

At Knovia Group, our mission is simple: to empower people and businesses through exceptional training and apprenticeship solutions. Today, we’re proud to share Knovia Groups’ 2025 Impact Report, highlighting the incredible progress we’ve made in shaping careers, supporting employers, and driving positive change.

We’re also proud to celebrate the launch of the 2025 Impact Reports from our four specialist brands; Paragon Skills, Shaping Lives, Tempdent, and Babington, each showcasing incredible achievements and progress over the past year.

Knovia Group: Our Impact in 2025

2025 has been a year of transformation across Knovia Group. Here are some of the key achievements that reflect our commitment to learners, employers, and communities:

    • Over 18,000 apprentices across health and social care, early years, dental, and business sectors.

    • Collaborated with 9,000+ employers to strengthen workforce capability and retention.

    • Each brand maintained impressive completion rates, exceeding national benchmarks, with 95% of apprentices reporting that they had a clearer idea of their future.

    • Delivered targeted initiatives to increase accessibility and representation, ensuring opportunities for all.

    • Achieved positive feedback from learners and employers across all brands, reflecting our dedication to quality and learner success.

Highlights from Our Brands

 

Paragon Skills: Delivered outstanding results in the care sector, supporting thousands of learners and employers to strengthen workforce capability and retention.

 

Shaping Lives Logo

Shaping Lives: Empowered early years professionals with high-quality training, ensuring children receive the best start in life.

 

Tempdent: Continued to lead the way in dental apprenticeships, helping practices build skilled, confident teams and improve patient care.

Babington_Primary_Postitive_RGB 1

Babington: Supported businesses and learners in finance, leadership, and digital skills, driving productivity and career progression.

Why This Matters

Skills development is at the heart of economic growth and social progress. By investing in apprenticeships and professional training across these vital sectors, we’re helping employers future-proof their workforce while giving individuals the tools to succeed in high-demand sectors.

Looking Ahead

As we move into 2026, Knovia Group remains committed to innovation, inclusivity, and excellence. Together with our specialist apprenticeship and training providers, we’ll continue to create opportunities that empower learners, strengthen businesses, and shape the future of work.

Explore Knovia Groups’ full report here

Celebrating Excellence Across Apprenticeships: The 2025 Knovia Group Apprenticeship Awards

Posted on by Sarah Arnesen

At Knovia Group, we are proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of apprentices and employer partners across our brands; Paragon Skills, Shaping Lives, Tempdent, and Babington. The 2025 Knovia Group Apprenticeship Awards mark a significant milestone in our shared commitment to recognising excellence, fostering opportunity, and driving meaningful impact across the care, childcare, dental and professional services sectors we serve.

Each brand hosted its own awards ceremony, honouring individuals and organisations who exemplify the values of dedication, innovation, and growth. These celebrations reflect the strength of our collective mission: to empower people and businesses through high-quality, transformative learning experiences.

Honouring Employer Excellence

Across Knovia Group, our employer partners play a vital role in supporting apprenticeships and creating environments where learners can thrive. This year’s awards recognised organisations that have demonstrated exceptional commitment to nurturing talent and embedding apprenticeships into their workforce strategies.

Employer Award Winners

Paragon Skills
Care Levy Employer of the Year – CCH Group
Care SME Employer of the Year – Making Space

Shaping Lives
Childcare Levy Employer of the Year – Teddies Nursery
Childcare SME Employer of the Year – Little Rockets Day Nursery

Tempdent
Dental Levy Employer of the Year – Bupa
Dental SME Employer of the Year – Garforth Dental
Trailblazer Award – MyDentist

Babington
Professional Services Levy Employer of the Year – BT Group
Professional Services SME Employer of the Year – HSE

Celebrating Learner Achievement

The Learner Awards highlight the remarkable contributions of apprentices who have gone above and beyond in their roles, demonstrating resilience, passion, and a commitment to personal and professional growth.

Learner Award Winners

Paragon Skills
Care Learner of the Year (16–24) – Megan Bater, Right At Home
Care Learner of the Year (25+) – Joanna Sholtysek, Voyage Care

Shaping Lives
Childcare Learner of the Year (16–24) – Kate James, Brixworth Day Nursery
Childcare Learner of the Year (25+) – Jade Rimmer, Channings

Tempdent
Dental Learner of the Year (16–24) – Amelia-Jayne Topolewski, The Smile Clinic
Dental Learner of the Year (25+) – Olivia Mycroft, MyDentist

Babington
Professional Services Learner of the Year (16-24) – Alexandra Waites, Lloyds Banking Group
Professional Services Learner of the Year (25+) – Rhys Bailey, Royal Mail

A Group-Wide Celebration of Impact

We extend our warmest congratulations to all winners and finalists across Knovia Group. Your achievements inspire us and reflect the transformative potential of apprenticeships in shaping the future of our industries.

🎥 Missed the awards?
You can still catch the highlights and hear the stories behind the success by watching the full awards video below or on our YouTube Channel. Let these moments of excellence motivate and inform the future of our sectors.

Welcoming Babington to the Knovia Group:Strengthening Impact, Innovation, and Growth

Posted on by Ben Causley

Exciting news! Knovia is thrilled to welcome Babington into our family, joining Paragon Skills, Shaping Lives, and Tempdent. This marks a significant milestone in our journey to drive social impact, professional mobility, and excellence in vocational training.

Expanding Our Reach, Strengthening Our Impact

The addition of Babington enhances our ability to equip individuals with valuable skills, improving productivity and career progression at scale. By uniting our expertise, we reinforce our commitment to being a market leader in our chosen sectors, particularly within the care industry. With Paragon Skills focusing even more sharply on this vital sector, we are poised to drive even greater innovation and impact.

As part of this strategic move, Paragon Skills’ professional services provision will transition to Babington, creating a more efficient, high-performing structure that fuels sustainable growth. This ensures we continue delivering outstanding learning experiences that evolve alongside the needs of our employer partners and learners.

Elevating Learning Experiences Through Collaboration

Babington’s dedication to learner success, combined with their expertise and strong portfolio, aligns perfectly with Knovia’s mission to redefine industry standards in vocational training. By sharing best practices and leveraging our collective strengths, we will accelerate innovation and introduce high-growth, in-demand skills, including data analytics, accountancy, HR, and L&D pathways.

This collaboration broadens our portfolio, creating more opportunities for learners and businesses to upskill, reskill, and stay competitive in today’s ever-changing job market.

A Shared Vision for the Future

Mark Botha, CEO of Knovia Group, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership:
“I am truly thrilled to welcome Babington into the Knovia Group. Their rich 50-year heritage and unwavering dedication to quality and innovation resonate deeply with our mission of Impact, Change, and Growth. Together, we will create meaningful change and deliver career-boosting outcomes for learners, businesses, and industries.”

Jennifer Bramley, CEO of Babington, echoed this excitement:
“I am delighted that Babington has joined the Knovia Group. Our commitment to Developing Better Futures remains our guiding principle, and now, with Knovia’s robust platform, we can amplify our impact. Together, we will continue to empower individuals and organisations through high-quality vocational training.”

Investing in Growth, Innovation, and Excellence

By joining Knovia, Babington gains access to a strong platform for growth, leveraging our deep expertise in apprenticeships and commercial training. This partnership strengthens our ability to scale, innovate, and provide high-quality learning experiences that drive real, measurable success.

At Knovia, we believe that ambitious, high-performing teams are the driving force behind meaningful change. Babington shares our passion for impact, and together, we will build a culture of collaboration, innovation, and professional development.

We are excited for the future and the incredible opportunities this partnership will bring for learners, businesses, and the wider economy. Welcome to the Knovia family, Babington!

Knovia Group launches specialist training provision for early years sector

Posted on by Katie Stephenson

Knovia Group is proud to announce the launch of Shaping Lives, which offers specialist training and apprenticeships in early childhood education.

With two decades of experience in the early years sector, previously provided through Paragon Skills, Shaping Lives is dedicated to nurturing and developing the next generation of educators.

To celebrate its launch, Shaping Lives has committed to training 10,000 young individuals aged 16 to 19 in early years education by 2030. This initiative aligns with its strong dedication to the sector and supports the government’s goal of increasing access to affordable, high-quality early years education.

Shaping Lives aims to deliver top-tier training in early years education, inspire learning, open up exciting career opportunities for educators, and address the sector’s evolving needs.

Mark Botha, CEO of Knovia Group , said:

“We are thrilled to launch Shaping Lives, reinforcing our commitment to early years education. Our specialist apprenticeships will equip the next generation of educators with the skills they need for rewarding careers.

“For over 20 years, we’ve delivered early years apprenticeships through Paragon Skills, supporting over 2,000 employers and thousands of apprentices. Shaping Lives will build on this foundation, focusing on high-quality early years provision and addressing skills gaps and recruitment challenges.

With our pledge to deliver 10,000 apprenticeships to ambisous young individuals by 2030, we aim to empower educators and their employers to play a vital role in shaping young children’s lives.”

Shaping Lives will offer outstanding training programmes, including SENCo specialism, reflecting the critical importance of early childhood education. As part of the Knovia Group, Shaping Lives is dedicated to delivering exceptional results for learners, employers, and the sector.

The Knovia Group companies thrive under strong, ambitious, and experienced leadership, fostering a culture of growth and success. They possess a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities within their chosen sectors, coupled with a steadfast commitment to quality, compliance, and operational excellence.

As part of the award-winning Knovia Group, alongside Paragon Skills and Tempdent, Shaping Lives aims to inspire learning, open up exciting career opportunities, and address the evolving needs of the early years sector.

Impact Report 2024

Posted on by Katie Stephenson

Knovia Group release 2024 Impact Report

Welcome to Knovia – a group of sector-focused, best in-class, quality-driven training businesses. We are passionate about vocational education, fulfilling potential, and helping people succeed.

At Knovia, we pride ourselves on being a catalyst for professional and social mobility. Our innovative approach to vocartional education in the healthcare and education sectors has empowered countless individuals to advance their careers and make a meaningful impact on their communities.

Read Knovia Group’s 2024 Impact Report

News – Knovia Recognised as “One to Watch” by BVCA Vision 2024

Posted on by Sarah Arnesen

Knovia Recognised as “One to Watch” by BVCA Vision 2024

We are excited to announce that while Knovia did not secure an award this year, we have been recognised as “One to Watch” by Vision 2024, an initiative celebrating the top-performing private equity and venture capital-backed companies.

Vision 2024 celebrates companies that have excelled in areas such as growth, competitiveness, innovation, and ESG commitment. While the spotlight is on past performance, the initiative also considers future potential—and that’s where Knovia has made an impression.

Despite launching less than a year ago, our efforts to achieve growth have been recognised by the Vision 2024 judging panel, who saw us as a strong contender for the future. The panel highlighted our achievements to date and expressed enthusiasm for what lies ahead.

Although we were not among this year’s award winners, we’re proud to be named a company to watch, and we’re eager to continue our journey of growth and innovation.

We look forward to the Summit Conference next week, where Vision 2024 will formally highlight Knovia and other companies positioned for future success. Our thanks go to the Vision 2024 panel, and we are excited to build on this recognition in the years to come.

Stay tuned for updates as we continue to build on our early success and strive for even greater achievements in the future.