Let's talk about LEAP - Our colleague takeover!
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Published 25 Jul 2023 in Colleagues
Welcome to July’s LEAP news. This month colleague James Eales, Assistant HR Advisor, takes over our LEAP update to share his experiences of a LEAP Apprenticeship programme! Take it away James...
Hi, I’m James Eales and I originally started at Midcounties in November 2018 as an Apprentice Membership Administrator. Since then, I’ve had several roles within the Society including Young Co-operators Network Co-ordinator, Resourcing Co-ordinator and my current role as Assistant HR Advisor.
Why did I choose to complete an Apprenticeship?
Coming into the Society after working in a bar for four years, I thought it would be a great idea to touch up on my customer service skills. Not only is this useful for my current role, but it has been essential for all of my roles as I’m consistently engaging with external stakeholders and colleagues across the different business groups.
What was my experience like on my Apprenticeship?
Whilst I was completing my Apprenticeship, the Society was really understanding when it came to completing my coursework during work time. My manager was always on hand to help me with any questions I had and my tutor at Walsall College was always an email or phone call away, he would help with any concerns or questions I had during my modules. I found juggling the coursework and my job really easy, as I had set days where I could solely work on my apprenticeship and ensure that I had completed everything I needed to do.
How have the knowledge, skills and behaviours I learnt on my Apprenticeship helped me in my career?
As part of my Apprenticeship, I was able to visit various trading groups to see how they operated on a daily basis. I was able to visit Funeral, Food, Energy, Travel and a few departments within Head Office. I was able to see how different colleagues approached customers and external clients and it provided me with a really wide range of skills to learn. The main lesson I took away from this was to know your audience! In businesses like Funeral and Travel, its very client orientated so you take your time to meet their full expectations and needs. Knowing this has helped me develop my career within the Society as I’ve been able to build connections and relationships with various stakeholders, ranging from colleagues to members of the Board!
My tips and advice for anyone thinking of completing an Apprenticeship:
If you’re thinking of applying for an Apprenticeship, I have three words for you…Go for it! By doing an Apprenticeship, not only do you get to expand your knowledge and transferrable skills, but you also get paid to gain extra qualifications, which is always a bonus!
A useful tip that helped me through my Apprenticeship is to put tasks into your calendar and make sure you stick to them! It’s so easy to do one more email, but if you have reminders in your calendar, you can manage your time a lot better and this means you won’t fall behind on coursework.
I’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge well done to our colleagues who have completed their apprenticeships over the past month:
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Laura Pullen, Team Leader at our Church Stretton store, achieved a Pass in her Retail Team Leader Level 3
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Chris Harrison, Team Leader at our Highley store, achieved a Pass in his Retail Team Leader Level 3
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Gage Hartshorn, from the Walsall Wood nursery, achieved a Distinction in his Early Years Educator Level 3
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Tia Smith, from our Cainscross nursery, achieved a Pass in her Early Years Educator Level 3
I’m sure you’ll all join me in sending congratulations to these colleagues – I wish you all the best for your future career with Midcounties!
If I’ve inspired you to look into what apprenticeship options are available for you, why not book in a Development Check-in with your line manager? Discuss your options with them and, who knows, this year you could be taking the LEAP!
Questions?
If you have any questions about any of our LEAP programmes, please get in touch with the L&D team at societylearningdevelopment@midcounties.coop