Jess's Apprenticeship Journey – May
In a special edition of the apprenticeship journey blog, Jess reflects on her first six months as an apprentice, looks ahead to what the next six months may bring and gives advice to anyone considering an apprenticeship. Find out more about what she has achieved, learnt and accomplished below.
Jess is completing a Level 3 Business Administrator Apprenticeship, and you can share her journey and progression with her monthly updates!
“It has been an amazing journey and I want to keep the momentum, keep progressing and keep learning. If you look at me now I would never have expected to have grown and developed so much in six months!”
How do you reflect on the first six months of your apprenticeship?
At the end of the first six months I am in a different place both personally and professionally. I have grown a lot, learnt a lot and feel much more confident. I never saw myself as academic. I did not get on well with work at school or have much drive, just doing the bare minimum and scraping by. I had never sat in formal meetings, giving input or listening to others. Now I attend meetings, I do my assignments early before the deadlines and to a high standard.
In meetings I contribute and ask questions, although this is still something I am working on while I get my bearings! Sometimes in the morning meeting my team leader will have a question for me and I will give my point of view and share my opinions. I just think it is very different to where I was before I started with no direction or confidence. Now I feel very different.
Previously, I had volunteered for a counselling company. This involved a lot of reception work and it was very paper based, adding things to the system and filing paperwork. That was the only experience I had of an office environment. I did not need to do a lot of independent thinking. Ultimately, that experience led to me applying for the business administration apprenticeship as I was very lost and didn’t know what my next move was. I had left college and worked at McDonald’s but after that experience I came to Ixion and found the job listing. I applied and remember going to the interview and thankfully I was successful.
I am only 18 so I am quite a young apprentice. So for me it’s been life experience as well as work experience, especially with the pandemic mixed in. It is such a contrast to before I started, my family have noticed my increased confidence. It has been an amazing journey and I want to keep the momentum, keep progressing and keep learning. If you look at me now I would never have expected to have grown and developed so much in six months!
What are you hoping to achieve over the next six months?
I will still be ticking off my off-the-job hours and assignments. As long as I know I’ve tried my hardest I will accept it, but I am hoping to get more distinctions as I’ve set a high level and I want to keep that going. I want to be attending more meetings, developing more of a voice, making more contributions and develop the recruitment side of my job.
Hopefully in six months’ time I will also have been into the office! I have not actually met everyone in person yet so I am looking forward to that, even though I’ll still be working flexibly.
I will also be looking at finishing my apprenticeship and going on to my end point assessment. I have been talking about my next steps and aims and ambitions. To be completely honest, I don’t know. I know I like the office setting. I know I want to stay with Ixion, so I am hoping the next six months will give me more of an idea what I want to go on to and the training I need to get there. I am excited to see how much I will have changed in another six months!
It is odd to think to the future. I would never have thought how much I would have changed already so who knows! I just want to try my best and see what happens. I do have a bit of anxiety, but I have started to overcome that in the past few months and I do think the job has helped me personally in that respect. It has boosted my confidence and it has helped me to set higher goals than I was used to, I never would have thought I would be getting distinctions for example!
How did your six month reviews go?
I recently had reviews with my line manager Steven and teaching assessor Maria which both went very well. I have hit a lot of the targets set originally which is good. We are now beginning to look at what my next steps are and it is my goal and theirs to be dealing more with recruitment, processing on the website and reaching out to other agencies.
My meeting with Steven was an appraisal. I have never had line manager reviews before so it was not only my first ever appraisal but first proper review as well. It is a different experience, but it is nice to know that if I am ever struggling, I can turn to Steven. The meetings can also help to review how I am working, making sure it is good for everyone.
The appraisal wasn’t as daunting as I thought it would be. When I filled out my paragraph on the appraisal form about the work I had done, I left out some of the extra work I have been doing, things like this blog! I did not realise that this was my time to shine, so Steven told me to go back and fill out with all the good things I do. It felt strange to blow my own trumpet, I didn’t want to feel like I was bragging! However, it was a nice feeling and made me feel like I am on the right track.
What would you say to people considering embarking on an apprenticeship?
For anyone who wants to become an apprentice, I always talk about how good my experience has been and how it’s a good thing to do. I even managed to talk to an old college friend of mine recently about them and he is now doing an apprenticeship at degree level. They can be up to a high level and he is happy I shared my experience.
Anyone wanting to become an apprentice, do it! It is not as hard as you think, there is no homework in the evening, when you’re not at work you’re not at work. I never would have thought it was for me but it is amazing and I want to share it.
Doing a qualification and making money at the same time I am really enjoying. It means I can afford to pay for things like having a nice phone and a gym membership, going out for drinks or dinner. I would not have been able to have the same lifestyle if I had gone back to college. It almost sounded too good to be true to be earning and learning, but I’m making more money than at my last job!
It is a bit odd that it was not more of an option or something that was shown to me at school. I was volunteering and it was suggested to me and that was some of the best advice I have had. Even though I do not necessarily want to work as an administrator forever it is a fantastic steppingstone and it unlocks so many possibilities.
“At the end of the first six months personally and professionally I am in a different place. I have grown a lot, learnt a lot and feel much more confident.”
Maria Seal, Teacher/Assessor
“When I first met our Jess six months ago, she was timid and a bit reserved. She explained how life was at school and I could relate to the same feeling. We had a lovely chat and I asked her about her hobbies and interests, and, like me, it’s a love of chocolate and animals, especially her dogs and cat.
“We discussed what the programme would involve, and she seemed excited yet nervous. For her first assignment she worked so hard and really learnt a lot about who Ixion part of Shaw Trust are and what we do as a company. She gained a well-earned distinction.
“I am pleased to say she has gone on and achieved more distinctions and has certainly raised that bar for herself, each time she hands in an assignment I can see the growth within her work, and within her personally. Jess has indeed done a full 360 turn around from where she was six months ago to where she is now.
“Jess is a real asset to the team, and she has managed her work and apprenticeship amazingly well. She has not yet ‘officially’ met anyone yet apart from on Teams, but when I do get to meet her there will definitely be a big bar of chocolate involved! You should be proud of yourself Jess!!”