New Year honour for Dunstable woman

A former Queensbury Upper School pupil has been recognised in the New Year Honours list.

Debbie Gardiner, Executive Chairman of leading training provider Qube Learning has been recognised for her work in the FE and charity sector.

Debbie, who has over 17 years of leadership and management experience in further education, is passionate about providing high quality training for apprentices, trainees and employers and has been awarded an MBE for Services to apprenticeships and charities.

First appointed as MD of Qube Learning, based in Abingdon, in 2006, Debbie was promoted to CEO in 2010 and in December 2017 was announced as Executive Chairman.

Qube Learning’s mission is to ‘inspire the future’ and Debbie is passionate about offering development opportunities to help people reach their full potential.

Debbie said: “To be awarded an MBE is a great honour and one which I’m so delighted to receive. Working within this sector is very important to me, I’m a firm believer in giving people a chance, providing them with the support, guidance and training they need to have the best chance of success. This honour is a credible acknowledgment of not only the work I have done, but also the momentous effort Qube Learning have put in too.”

Alongside her role at Qube, Debbie spends much of her personal time undertaking voluntary roles for charity. She is a Cancer Research Campaigns Ambassador for South West Bedfordshire and helps fundraise and raise awareness on the organisation’s political campaigns to improve survival rates. Additionally, she is part of the Patient and Public Involvement group at the Oxfordshire Universities Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Debbie also holds a voluntary role on the Board of Directors for the Association of Employer and Learning Providers (AELP). She chairs the subcontractor working group and attends several other AELP parties; all of which is about shining a light on the education division and supporting AELP to increase stakeholders’ knowledge, understanding and awareness, and make further improvements.

Debbie added “Qube work a lot within the Health and Social Care sector, and it gives me a deeper understanding of the impact that illness can have on someone’s life. I hope that through my efforts with the charities that I can continue to aid many through difficult and challenging times.”

Qube Learning are an Ofsted grade 2 training provider that specialises in Apprenticeships and Traineeships. The company prides itself on working with recognisable brands - from DHL to Avery Healthcare, and deliver a range of training and qualifications to various industries across England. Qube Learning have trained thousands of Apprentices and been awarded numerous contracts by the Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) since 2006 when Debbie first took a leadership role at the company.

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