BLOG: Support And Confidence – Benefits Of A Traineeship

My name is Chloe, and I have recently started my Level 3 Business Administration apprenticeship with Weston College.

It has been an interesting year; in March I was completing my final year at school as a year 11 Student at Churchill Academy School, before having 6 months off thanks to the cancellation of my GCSE exams. After such a long gap, I felt that I needed a course to help me prepare for an apprenticeship and act as a steppingstone, so I started a traineeship.

The traineeship was perfect for me, as I didn’t want to study an ‘academic course’, preferring to gain practical experience – which the traineeship offered.

I was based in the Eco House at Weston College’s South West Skills Campus, and this was a great opportunity to develop my skills and grow in confidence.

The traineeship offers you such varied skills, which you can take forward into future jobs. I found the employability aspects really valuable – and this helped me get the apprenticeship I am on now. I learnt how to write a CV and cover letter, from the content to the layout, and this gave me so much confidence when applying for apprenticeships.

On top of that, we were also given lots of support ahead of interviews, such as preparation for commonly asked questions, and also having mock interviews – which included both positive and negative feedback. This was really beneficial to me, and again, gave me so much confidence!

It wasn’t just interview prep, the traineeship strengthened my skills in other areas too, such as my digital skills. We had sessions on the Microsoft package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook), and I now use these daily in my apprenticeship.

If you want to do an apprenticeship but can’t find the right opportunity, or think that now isn’t the best time, then a traineeship will really help – I cannot speak highly enough of the support I received. You can learn skills in such a variety of areas, from Beauty to Engineering (depending on what you are interested in), it really is a fantastic course. The tutors are so supportive, and they really do bring the best out of you! They have helped me to get to where I want to be, and I am sure that they can do the same for you too.

UPDATE: I am now 10 months into my apprenticeship, and I have loved every minute of it!

One of the things I love the most about my job, is how varied it is – every day is different! I also love to help people which is why I enjoy providing PA support to my manager which includes inbox and diary management and other administrative tasks. Also, I help to plan and prepare events, attend and minute meetings, manage our team’s inbox which includes replying to employers enquiring about the Kickstart Scheme, apprenticeships, events and bootcamps that Weston College provides, plus much more!

As well as this, I must ensure that I carry out my weekly 20% ‘off the job’ training for the compulsory study side of my apprenticeship. This can include: attending workshops taught by my assessor to learn about the different modules within my apprenticeship, completing work that gets set for me on SmartAssessor, attending Future Talent meetings, shadowing colleagues or receiving training. There has been loads of interesting things for me to learn in preparation for my End Point Assessment, which I will complete at the beginning of next year.

The biggest highlight for me during my apprenticeship, was recently when my assessor told me the brilliant news that he would like to nominate me for ‘Apprentice of the year’. Every assessor has to put forward one student that they feel deserves recognition of their hard work throughout their apprenticeship journey.

Since completing my traineeship, to this day, I still find what I learnt through the course, extremely helpful! I learnt so much about the ‘working world’ before I started my apprenticeship, and it was incredibly useful to have that knowledge in advance.

The support and advice that the traineeship team provided me with, gave me so much more confidence submitting my CV and going into my first ever job interview. They had advised me of the all-important ‘do’s and don’ts’ of interview techniques. Also, the digital skills that I got taught, have enabled me to expand my IT skills and knowledge which helps me daily to carry out the majority of my work.

Chloe Hayzen, Business Growth Apprentice