Lewis Branfield is a shining example of the impact an Apprenticeship can have on an individual’s progression. The Apprenticeship programme has helped Lewis reach his potential, transforming him from a shy young adult, to a successful Intermediate Apprentice, an award winning Advanced Apprentice and he is now studying a BA (Hons) open degree in Business with Accounting and is set to become a manager at only aged 21. After completing his A levels, Lewis Branfield of St Agnes in Cornwall, faced the tough decision of what step to take next. After deciding he wasn’t ready for university, Lewis started to look for work. This was more arduous than Lewis imagined as he attempted applying for a number of job vacancies but grew frustrated when he couldn’t find suitable employment in Cornwall. The next step that Lewis took was the biggest one yet, joining the Truro and Penwith College ‘Kick Start’ programme. The programme helped Lewis gain the necessary skills, training and information to feel confident enough to attend an interview and prove his capabilities. He attended workshops on telephone techniques, customer service, health & safety, assertiveness and motivation and spent 9 days working with a local company, Somar Mark Group commercial. The company were so impressed that they offered him a full time position as a Business Administration Apprentice working in sales, logistics and diary management. Lewis’s career path has gone from strength to strength and still continues to grow. During his apprenticeship, his employer noticed a clear improvement in motivation, knowledge and attitude after attending the college training sessions. These sessions helped Lewis to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to take back to his work place and apply them in a real life situation. “The taught sessions in the skills development programme have been really helpful and relevant to my work. It has been great to meet with other apprentices and share ideas and all the tutors are really friendly and professional. Doing this apprenticeship has changed my life!” Somar Mark Group commercial also felt the benefit of the Apprenticeship programme. The ‘Kick Start’ programme allowed them to employ a motivated individual and adapt them to their working environment as well as allowing them to understand more about Apprenticeships and what they can do for their business. Lewis’s story is a prime illustration of how Apprenticeships can offer a route to progression in terms of both qualifications and career. Lewis has not only been able to secure a prestigious role at Somar Mark Group, but also work his way up the career ladder as Lewis seeks to go on to even bigger and better things. Jo Bartlett, Lewis’s manager comments, “The great thing about Apprenticeships is that we are able to fine tune them to our exact business needs therefore the Apprentice understand our business vision and can make a real impact. The ‘Kickstart’ programme allowed us to try out an Apprentice before we took them on with fantastic support from the College, Lewis has made a massive impact on the business and we are really proud of him.” Lewis pictured with Lee McQueen (Winner of ‘The Apprentice’)Lewis Branfield - Business Administration Apprenticeship
The value of an Apprenticeship to an employer and an individual cannot be underestimated as 18 year old Andrew Pidgeon demonstrates. Andrew started the Level 3 Marketing Apprenticeship in January, working for Truro and Penwith College Business. Remarkably he has already received national praise for his first report written just 3 weeks into his Apprenticeship. After completing his final year at college, Andrew took time out to decide whether or not to go to university but after careful consideration felt that university wasn’t the right route for him so began to look for his next move. He started looking for full time employment and a way to progress his career whilst continuing to learn. Whilst searching for jobs he stumbled upon Apprenticeships, and determined that this was the best option for him because of the progression opportunities that an Apprenticeship can offer. Andrew says “I decided that an Apprenticeship was the ideal way for me to progress. It allows me to earn a wage, gain essential work experience and nationally recognised qualifications, all whilst being able to still live at home.” He applied for a position as a marketing Apprentice just before Christmas 2012 and was successfully appointed in January 2013. In his 2 months with Truro and Penwith College Business, Andrew has already grown in confidence and gained skills that he will be able to apply to the rest of his working life. Andrew has been involved in a variety of key marketing activities, working closely with colleagues to develop his own skills and learn about the day to day running of the Business Centre. “Before starting the Apprenticeship I thought that it would take me much longer than it has to adjust to a business environment. However, everybody has helped me settle in, making me feel comfortable to come forward with ideas and have the confidence to participate in meetings and discussions”. Andrew is already organising events, creating flyers, updating the website and creating case studies and is a highly valued member of Truro and Penwith College Business Centre team. The report which gained Andrew national recognition from the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) is about their new Smartphone application which allows the user to find Apprenticeship vacancies across the country on their mobile. As this application is a new development for NAS, Truro & Penwith College Business were asked to trial the App to see how it worked. Andrew’s report gave NAS important feedback at an early stage and even offered advice on how the user experience can be improved. NAS were so impressed with the quality of the report that it is now being used in their national marketing activities, an outstanding achievement especially considering that this was only his 3rd week on the 12 month Apprenticeship. Andrew has now created a special twitter account @TruroApprentice specifically for young people interested in Apprenticeships and will be regularly tweeting vacancies, information and insights into his own Apprenticeship journey. Andrew intends to progress his career in Marketing by completing his Apprenticeship and would like to work for a multi national company in the future. “When I finished College it felt like my progression had ground to a halt, but I now feel that my career is really moving forward! The appeal of an Apprenticeship is that it allows you to find a career that you want to advance, whilst gaining that all important work experience and portfolio that employers will be looking for as they recruit.” Andrew Pidgeon Marketing Apprentice Andrew Pidgeon - Marketing Apprenticeship
Tom Scott completed an Apprenticeship in Business Administration at both Level 2 & 3 and an ILM Level 3 Award in First Line Management through Truro and Penwith College. Tom found the three years working as an Administration Assistant with the Council of the Isles of Scilly a giant learning experience full of enjoyment, hard work and promise. He made many friends, learnt a great deal about the adult working environment, and how his own role was able to develop along with his CV. The Business and Administration Qualifications allowed him to understand how his role fitted in with the wider Council mission. However, he regards the ILM Level 3 Award in First Line Management as the most useful qualification. This taught him theoretical and practical skills associated with managing a team. These skills are now being utilised in his current role of leading on the Councils e-Learning provision. These skills and qualifications will undoubtedly help Tom with his ultimate ambition to attend a Medical School on the mainland in the future. Tom achieved the qualifications through a blend of self/distance learning and class based delivery, using interactive technologies to maximise engagement and impact. The internet was also used to deliver online technical certificate exams, which was a quick and easy assessment method for someone living on the Islands. Tom says that “The qualifications were extremely relevant to my role in the Council. It taught me aspects of government legislation, policies and procedures and how local government works to serve its constituents”.Tom Scott - Business Administration Apprenticeship & ILM Level 3 Award in First Line Management
From Marketing Apprentice to International Marketing Assistant for New Look Jasmine moved from Essex to Truro in August 2010 to start a National Diploma in Media at Truro College. After a few months Jasmine decided the course wasn’t right for her and decided to leave “I always thought I would progress better in a working environment and wanted to apply the skills I’d learnt in the classroom to a real-life situation”. After months of wondering what direction to take she decided that may be an apprenticeship would be a good idea, “I always thought that being an apprentice included making cups of tea and doing the jobs no-one else wanted to do, but I felt it was an ideal way to gain a qualification, work experience and have some money for myself” Once deciding this route was the route for her, Jasmine updated her CV and started sending it to local businesses; she soon secured a job with Truro and Penwith College Business Centre as their Marketing Apprentice. Since starting her Apprenticeship Jasmine’s confidence and skills have grown, and she has now has a clear understanding of marketing. She has worked hard and has experienced a range of tasks such as event organising, creating flyers, analysing learner feedback, dealing with customer queries on a daily basis and giving a number of talks on Apprenticeships to Year 10 students as well as completing qualifications in Customer Service. “I can’t believe how much my apprenticeship has done for me, not only have I got a nationally recognised qualification, but the work experience to go with it”. Once she completed her apprenticeship, Jasmine decided Marketing was definitely what she wanted to do as a career. She decided to move back to Essex and started to apply for jobs. Because of her experience and qualifications gained during her apprenticeship she successfully applied for a job as International Marketing Assistant for New Look in London. Jasmine loves the role and is involved in a wide range of exciting daily activities. “I am so glad I chose to be an Apprentice, it has opened up so many doors for me. When I applied for this job I was only 17 and up against much older candidates, some with degrees! I truly believe that it was the experience and confidence I gained on my apprenticeship which made the difference and got me the job”. She now plans to progress onto a qualification with the Chartered Institute of Marketing.Jasmine Emerton - Marketing Apprenticeship
Peter Kessell - Customer Service Apprenticeship
Peter Kessell is not only the head gardener for the Truro Parks Department, but also a learning champion!
Peter’s team of 7 gardeners look after the many floral displays and landscaped gardens in Truro City Centre. Within the organisation Peter is a ‘Learning Champion’ after successfully completing a number of professional qualifications, Apprenticeships, NVQs and Business Skills Seminars with Truro and Penwith College Business Centre. Not only does he continue to push himself and improve his skills, but he also works hard to encourage his colleagues and organisation to adopt a ‘learning culture’.
This apprenticeship has shown Peter the other side of customer service, where good and bad practices have far reaching and long term consequences. Peter feels that he will always continue to learn throughout his working life and because the courses are enjoyable and achievable in his working week he is always on the look out to do more and more courses.
Peter said: “The training has helped me develop new skills and techniques in Customer Service. I tend to go that extra mile for our customers and after completing my apprenticeship I go even further for them.”
Peter’s employer sees the benefits of training and uses him as an example of a ‘Learning Champion’. “Many of Peter’s colleagues have watched him complete a number of courses and are keen to follow in his footsteps. Peter’s Apprenticeship and dedication to training has developed an eagerness and willingness to learn within the entire organisation.”
Peter comments: “I feel that apprenticeships are very important, particularly in my workplace and with my results in the last 3 years this has underpinned the parks department belief in investing in staff no matter what their age.”
