A HOUSING association manager has won a top award.

Hazel Waddington, who manages a team of 45 staff at Bolton at Home, has won a City & Guilds Lion Award for her success in undertaking vocational training.

Her success came after she received the Learner of the Year Medal of Excellence from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).

Miss Waddington, who is a principal income management services manager with the group, said: “Winning the Medal of Excellence and then the City & Guilds Lion Award has been such a compliment.

“My tutors, including Ann Burton and Colin Melrose, were fantastic role models for me and really supported me.

“Seeing how they facilitated the training sessions motivated me to be a better, more consistent manager and I took what I learned back into the office.”

Judges praised Miss Waddington’s enthusiasm and interest in learning.

The 31-year-old from Kearsley did her vocational studies with Training by Design in Cheshire.

Ann Burton, founder and managing director of Training by Design, said: “I am so proud of Hazel, particularly as she was one of only 14 people in the UK to receive a Lion Award this year. She is a superb example of a young, motivated, inquisitive individual who has embraced learning and applied it to real-life working environments.

“This has impacted positively on her career and on team members’ and colleagues’ morale, mot-ivation, confidence and development.”

Miss Waddington under-took the ILM Level 3 Certificate while she was working as a neighbour-hood services team leader for Eastlands Homes in Manchester. Her success helped her gain her new job at Bolton at Home.

The ILM has links to local education and vocational organisations including Bolton College, Training for Today, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, Alliance Learning at Horwich, Development Processes Group in Worsley and Salford City College’s Walkden campus.

Each year it helps more than 92,000 practising and aspiring managers through a range of programmes.