National Apprenticeship Week 2024

Let’s start with Sam Handley talking to one of his Improvement Practitioner learners, Natalie Roberts.

Safety, Health and Environment Learning Coach, Mandy O’Connor Ryan, talks to David Jackson from Taylor Woodrow.

Safety, Health and Environment Learning Coach, Tim Potter, talks to Stephen Preston about his apprenticeship journey.

Alex is one of our Business & Management Learning Coaches and here talks to David Davies about his Improvement Technician apprenticeship.

Qaanitah Khansia, working for Chubb Fire & Security UK, carried out a Q&A session with Ella, our Bid and Proposal Coordinator Apprenticeship learning coach.

During your apprenticeship I have seen you develop significant interpersonal skills which are both useful and transferable. What activities have supported this?

The activities that have supported this are webinars that we have often where we get to interact with our colleagues and take part in a variety of activities. Also, as I have been progressing throughout this apprenticeship, I have taken more responsibilities at work for example leading and running calls myself, which has really boosted my confidence and skills.

How has the programme helped with developing the skills you use day to day?

The programme has really enhanced my knowledge on my current job role, and everything I have learnt from the course I do whilst completing tenders. So getting to learn then practice what we learn at the same time has really enhanced a lot of my skills.

What sort of skills do you recognise you have now that perhaps were not evident at the start of your programme?

I am able to organise a lot better which has helped with completing tenders as we have a lot of deadlines for that too, so I am able to be more organised with my work to meet them deadlines. I have become more confident in speaking and the review calls we have often, have helped a lot as we have to present Infront of more senior leaders and I used to be a lot more nervous before.

What impact has this had in your workplace?

In my workplace I believe my team members including my managers have praised me a lot throughout my course on how much I have improved. And how these skills have really helped my confidence grow in all the work that I do. I used to be more nervous when completing work and presenting it to others but now I feel a lot more confident and have more belief in my work.

How do you plan to continue this growth?

I plan to grow by taking part in as many activities as I can so that I can learn more skills and enhance my knowledge as I believe this is the only way I’ll be able to grow.

Next up, is Lauren Healey, talking to Anna Bombar about her Safety, Health & Environment Apprenticeship.

During your apprenticeship, you have attended many GROW Academy webinars. What skills have these enabled for you to develop?

Grow academy webinars allowed me to learn new social skills. I am a very shy person and sometimes it can be very difficult for me to feel comfortable enough to engage with other people. However, I would like to highlight the Presenting with Confidence workshop with Laura which I have attended to improve my presenting skills and work on my confidence. It helped me a great deal as I have been able to improve my presenting skills and it was very refreshing to be able to talk to other students in breakout rooms who have similar anxieties about giving presentations and help each other.

What sort of skills do you recognise you have now that perhaps were not evident at the start of your programme?

I am a better team worker than I was before. I use the skills and knowledge that I gained from the workshops and webinars and my independent study; therefore, I feel less like an impostor. For a while I suffered from impostor syndrome as everybody was so knowledgeable and experienced in our H&S team compared to me. I forgot that I am only at the beginning of my journey to be a H&S professional, but I recognized that once I will complete my apprenticeship I will become richer in both knowledge and experience.

What impact has this had in your workplace?

I can say that I am on the right path to becoming my most confident self. Interacting with other students during the workshop sessions, and other colleagues and stakeholders at work challenged me to get out of my comfort zone.

What about impact outside of work?

All the knowledge and experience that I have gained from my apprenticeship and work have changed the way I think of safety. I have learnt to lead by example and do the right thing.
I have learnt to be confident enough to politely challenge unsafe behaviour and I live by these values outside of work as well.

How do you plan to continue this growth?

To continue my professional development, in the future, I plan on attending more GROW Academy webinars, continue my independent study and working as a team with my colleagues and managers.

And last but certainly not least Beth Warman, our Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability learning coach, talks to Mitchell Smith, who works at Allen & Overy LLP.

During your apprenticeship I have seen you develop significant interpersonal skills which are both useful and transferable. What activities have supported this?

Networking events such as our global social impact conference with international colleagues and being on board several DE&I working groups

How has the programme helped with developing the skills you use day to day?

I am lucky enough to be able to put into practice these skills through the exposure I get on both the social and environmental impact work at A&O.  The work links to many of the course theory elements, helping me to reflect on the reason behind certain initiatives.

What sort of skills do you recognise you have now that perhaps were not evident at the start of your programme?

I feel much more confident in speaking at meetings/presenting in front of a large group of people as part of my role, and this stems from the knowledge I have learned throughout the apprenticeship. I struggled early on with public speaking but my confidence has grown with my understanding of different topics.

What impact has this had in your workplace?

My ideas and opinions have been well received by my colleagues and those who I want to influence or motivate. I have a nurturing environment that allows me to develop personally but in a way I feel comfortable and supported.

What about impact outside of work?

Outside of work, I have found my experience in a corporate setting invaluable.   It’s allowed me to find out what I enjoy and identify what my passions are in life ,and these closely align with my role.  I’m always doing something good at work- either impacting on a young person or supporting our ambitions around the environment.

How do you plan to continue this growth?

I plan to grab as many opportunities as possible, keep up my learning through the incredible support of my learning coaches at RHG and make myself and those around me proud. Being at A&O over the last year has opened so many doors and am looking forward to the future.