Jess's apprenticeship journey
This month Jess completed her apprenticeship and gained a distinction! We are all incredibly proud of your achievement – well done Jess!
Discover how she found her end-point assessment, if she would recommend an apprenticeship and what she is doing next below!
We’ve been blogging about Jess’s journey every month since she began – catch up on how she felt when she started, how she was doing mid-way through and how she felt as she was nearing the end!
"I am super happy that I achieved a distinction, I look forward to what's next and how I can continue to develop."
Tell us about your end-point assessment.
The end-point assessment (EPA) for Business administrator, Level 3 qualification is made up of three parts: the knowledge test, a portfolio-based interview, and a project presentation.
The knowledge test must happen first, and you have to pass it as a minimum before you can move on to the final two parts of the EPA. It’s made up of 50 questions and is held on Teams with an “End Point Assessor” from an external assessment company. The exam itself is taken on a website, the link is sent to you by the external assessor and is worth 20% of your grade.
As it is taken online and needs to be passed before you can move on you typically hear back the same day or whilst on the call. I was fortunate enough to hear back whilst on the phone, sitting there I was hoping to pass and when they said “you’ve got a distinction” I was so happy. I was like fantastic – let’s get the other assessments finished now!
I booked my project presentation and my portfolio-based interview on the same day, back-to-back. I would only recommend if you feel confident it would work well for you to do both without a break. If not, I would suggest doing them on different days so you can give each one 100%. For me, it worked well as I like a bit of pressure and wanted to get them both done before the end of the month!
Prior to your project presentation you must submit a project plan outlining some background to the project as well as the objectives and a brief summary. which the assessor will read so that they get a bit of an idea about your project and can think of questions to ask. The presentation itself lasts around 30 minutes,15 minutes presenting and 15 minutes for questions.
In the portfolio-based interview you get asked about all the evidence that you’ve submitted over the length of your practical period (for me it was 18 months). It lasts about 40 minutes, and they just ask you questions about any of the work you’ve submitted as well as your knowledge, skills and behaviors. You are allowed to have your portfolio evidence in front of you so when being asked about something you worked on 6 months ago you understand what the assessor is referencing!
I did the project presentation first which went really smoothly, I just spoke through my project PowerPoint and the assessor asked me a couple of questions which I answered confidently.
After I moved onto the final assessment, I did my portfolio-based interview straight after! Out of the three I was a little bit nervous for this one as some of the work was from quite some time ago. But I gave it my all.
At the end of the assessments, you just go back to work and try and put it out of your mind until you get a response from the external assessment body confirming your grade. With this standard are two types of criteria “Pass” markers and “Distinction” markers.
You must hit all of the “Pass” markers to get a pass. If you are reaching for a distinction you have to get all of the “Pass” markers and “Distinction” markers – there’s no room for error, it has to be 100% in all three assessments.
I was super lucky as I was told on the same day as my final two assessments that not only had I passed but that I got a Distinction! I’m so glad that I didn’t have to wait for a result!
Tell us about the support that you received during your apprenticeship?
I was fresh out of school when I started my apprenticeship but from day one, I felt very supported. Everyone was super helpful and understanding which I massively appreciated.
As time has gone on, I’ve become so much more capable and although I don’t need everyone to be around helping me as much the support is still the same. So even though I don’t need someone’s hand to guide me through anymore I still feel super supported and know that there’s always someone willing to help me – everyone is always like ‘just drop me a call or a message if you need help’ whether it’s people in my team, my teaching assessor or other coworkers.
I get good feedback which helps me with future work and makes me feel like I’m supporting the team well. I have just felt very supported in this journey, so I’m very grateful for that as it has helped me to improve myself as well as my skills.
What were your biggest challenges during the apprenticeship?
I think for me, my biggest challenge was at the start, I had quite a negative mindset so changing that was difficult. Before my apprenticeship, I had a negative attitude toward learning so getting into a working headset as well as a positive one was the most challenging. By learning and working you must learn to behave professionally in a work environment and how to manage positive working relationships. With a bit of time and practice, I think I’ve got there. I feel so much more confident and have completely changed my attitude towards learning and working.
Can you tell us about the impact on you professionally and personally?
I’ve grown a lot throughout this journey. I’m a lot more confident and that was a big struggle of mine. I used to be completely introverted, a little bit avoidant of conservation whereas now I’m very bubbly and chatty than when I started my apprenticeship.
Professionally, again I feel way more confident! I feel like with confidence it just kind of boosts everything, so I do just feel like a lot more sort comfortable in who I am as a person and am able to put new ideas forward. By understanding this job role inside and out and the company I’m much more capable now than when I first started.
What is next for you in your career?
Now that I have finished my apprenticeship, I have secured a promotion within Ixion part of Shaw Trust – I’m moving over to the justice team as Community Case Manager.
The justice team has two sides to it, delivery within prisons and the work in the probation. I will be working on the probation side and am really looking forward to starting.
What would you tell someone who is thinking about or just starting their apprenticeship?
If you are thinking of doing an apprenticeship, then I am always going to say go for it! In my mind it makes logical sense, you get work experience, education and training as well as getting paid. It helps your development if you are already in a role or helps get you on the ladder if you are new to your career/ looking for a change.
I would say for anyone just starting an apprenticeship to have a bit of patience, you are not going to come into an apprenticeship and know everything so ask for help if you need it. It’s not designed for you to know everything; it’s designed for you to come on and learn. So have patience, you are going to get there and at the start, it can be quite difficult, and you will feel like you do not know what you are doing but you’ll get there, be patient and learn to trust yourself a bit and focus on growing your attributes and building your confidence.
Here is what Jess's Teaching Assessor Maria Seal had to say...
“Jess has done a full 360 since starting on her journey to completing. When I first met Jess, she was shy and a little reserved, now 18 months on she is one of the most confident and motivated people I have met.
For someone who has never worked in this role or industry before Jess settled in well not just into her role but also with her apprenticeship. Jess is like a “little bob sponge square pants” she enjoyed learning and researching and just easily absorbed the information and produced work of a high standard.
I am so proud of Jess in gaining a distinction for Business Admin Level 3, and I hope this encourages others to undertake an apprenticeship. Jess has since gained a new role with Ixion, and I am so pleased that she is following her dreams. I wish her all the best for her future in her new role.”