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Supporting Creativity And Consistency: Bauer Academy’s Partnership With Innovate Awarding

Bauer Academy delivers innovative, work-based training from inside Bauer Media, one of the world’s largest privately owned media companies. In the UK, the group owns household-name brands including KISS, Absolute Radio, Empire, Heat, Grazia and Greatest Hits Radio. 

 

Bauer Academy offers a portfolio of apprenticeships designed around the demands of a fast-paced media environment, with programmes spanning content creation, leadership, digital strategy, coaching and wellbeing. All are designed with the employer’s perspective in mind and are backed by the Apprenticeship Levy. 

The Challenge: Delivering EPA At Scale In A Fast-Paced Environment

“In a busy media environment, we need things to run smoothly — communication and clarity make all the difference.” — Alex Barker

 

Delivering apprenticeship programmes in a content-led, fast-paced organisation like Bauer Media requires reliable assessment processes, efficient communication, and partners who understand the demands of operating at scale.

 

Bauer Academy had experience with Innovate Awarding’s platform, but as programme volumes increased, the challenge quickly became about ensuring assessments ran seamlessly for every learner, without adding pressure to internal teams. 

The Solution: Practical Support That Empowers Providers And Learners

“Innovate made it really easy for our team to get the most out of the system. The group sessions they ran with learners gave everyone a much clearer understanding of the EPA process—it definitely boosted learner confidence.” — Alex Barker

 

With onboarding tailored to Bauer’s needs and ongoing support from a responsive account team, Innovate Awarding helped Bauer Academy streamline their EPA delivery, improve learner confidence, and stay ahead of any potential operational complexity. 

Easy Setup, Better Insights

Innovate enhanced Bauer’s existing knowledge of the platform, demonstrating how to access assessor feedback, download reports, and share results quickly with learners.

Confidence From The Start

To support learner readiness, Innovate ran group sessions explaining the EPA journey, helping apprentices understand what to expect and feel better prepared for success.

Flexible, Responsive Support

Innovate also supported pre-booked assessment dates and maintained clear communication throughout, making it easy for learners to select times that suited their schedules.

The Results: Consistent Delivery And Operational Confidence

“We’ve changed EPAOs before and seen mixed results, but with Innovate everything stayed consistent. Their team is incredibly responsive and having that kind of stability has been a huge asset as our programmes grow.” — Alex Barker

 

Key improvements from the partnership include: 

Consistent Outcomes

There was no drop in assessment performance or learner results—evidence of a smooth and well-managed handover.

Scalable Delivery

As Bauer’s programme numbers fluctuated, Innovate proactively ensured assessors were in place and support was aligned with demand.

A Dependable Relationship

Account managers Jess and Olivia became trusted contacts—always quick to respond, ready to troubleshoot, and happy to jump on calls to resolve queries.

A Strategic Partnership For Creative Industries

“Build a good relationship with your key contacts and everything will fall into place.” — Alex Barker

 

Bauer Academy sees its relationship with Innovate Awarding as a valuable operational partnership, one that provides the consistency, responsiveness and adaptability needed in a high-paced media environment. With Innovate’s ongoing support, Bauer can continue to grow its programmes with confidence. 

Real-World Training, Backed By Real Support

Bauer Academy’s experience shows how the right EPA partnership can bring confidence, clarity and consistency, even in the most dynamic and fast-paced sectors.

 

With practical support, learner-focused processes, and scalable delivery, Innovate Awarding helps training providers deliver with confidence.

 

Ready to simplify your EPA journey?