To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week (5-11 February), we caught up with a former CCCG Apprentice to find out about her motivation, experience and outcomes.

If you’re considering an apprenticeship, you may well be wondering what the life of an Apprentice is really like. We interviewed Helen Dixon, who recently completed the Facilities Management Level 4 Apprenticeship, which includes a Level 4 Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) qualification.

Facilities Management (often known as FM) is a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure that a built environment functions correctly – through the integration of people, place, process and technology. Facilities Management includes diverse disciplines such as:

• Health and Safety
• Fire Safety
• Security
• Maintenance
• Cleaning
• Grounds Maintenance
• Caretaking
• Property Management
• Business Continuity
• Space Allocation
• Change Management

Helen worked in various roles in Facilities Management for around 20 years before deciding to do an apprenticeship with Capital City College Group (CCCG). At the time, she was working for CBRE, a global leader in commercial real estate services and investment, as an Area Facilities Manager for North Wales. She completed her apprenticeship remotely between June 2021 and July 2023.

Why did you decide to do an apprenticeship?

Helen: It was something that had been in the back of my mind to do. I was just waiting for the right opportunity to come along and this seemed like a good option – a good way of formalising all the knowledge and work that I’d accumulated in my previous FM roles.

How long was your apprenticeship?

Helen: The apprenticeship training was originally 14 months long but it took me just over 2 years due to a family bereavement. They were very good at being understanding and letting me have the extra time I needed.

Why did you choose to do an apprenticeship over another type of course?

Helen: I chose it because I could do it through work and it allowed me eight hours a week to devote to coursework and reading – limiting the amount of my own free time I had to spend on it. The government covered the course fees which was also a bonus. I’m much older than most people would envision an Apprentice – when you think of an Apprentice you think of someone who’s just left school and is just starting out on the road to work. 

How was the apprenticeship training structured?

Helen: We’d have a monthly lecture or workshop with our tutor, Rod, where we’d cover a certain topic. Then he’d send out slides and we’d get an assignment. You usually have about six weeks to two months to complete the assignment.

How often did you get to speak with your tutor?

Helen: I’d have a fortnightly one-to-one meeting with Rod to discuss progress or any issues. He could see how I was getting on and see if I needed any help. We also had a quarterly meeting with my manager so they could be kept informed about how I was doing and see that the time off I was given to do the training was worthwhile.

What did you like about your apprenticeship?

Helen: It was a really good way to meet other people working in similar roles. Although we all had very similar job titles our roles were very different – some people worked for local councils, some people worked for really massive organisations and some people worked for really small organisations. It was good to compare and contrast what other people were doing and how they approached different problems.

Why did you choose this apprenticeship in particular?

Helen: It was always something I was keen on doing. For me, it was about trying to take the next step up the ladder. It was also about formalising what I’d learnt in the past 15 to 20 years. The IWFM diploma, particularly Level 4, is a really good qualification to have in the FM world. It’s one you can build on as well so there’s always the opportunity to go back and get Level 5 or Level 6.

What are you doing now?

Helen: In September last year, I noticed a job advertised in my local area, which is rare. I applied, not really thinking that it would go much further because it was quite a big step up for me. I ended up getting the job and now I work at Kimberly Clarke. Whereas before, I was just in charge of a team of engineers, I now have a catering team, an engineering team and a cleaning team to manage. I’d like to think that the IWFM qualification contributed to that.

What would you say to anyone thinking about doing an apprenticeship? 

Helen: I think it’s a great opportunity to learn while you’re still working. If your job is willing to let you take those eight hours a week to put towards your reading and your coursework, I’d say it’s definitely a worthwhile thing to do. Once you’ve completed it and got your final diploma or certificate, I think it gives you an edge when it comes to applying for roles or promotions.

What advice would you give to anyone who is about to embark upon an apprenticeship?

Helen: Speaking from experience, I’d definitely say, stay on top of your coursework, because it can be very hard to catch up. Sometimes you’ve got two months to write 4000 words, but if you’ve got a lot going on at home or sometimes after a long working week you don’t feel like sitting down and writing an essay, that time can dwindle away quite easily.

What were the challenges of doing the apprenticeship?

Helen: The main challenge was staying on top of coursework. Although I used the apprenticeship to cement the knowledge that I already had, there were aspects of it where I had very limited knowledge, for example, FM budgets. So it was a case of going out and finding out that information, whether it was talking to someone in the finance department in my organisation or someone else on the apprenticeship training who dealt a bit more with that side of things. There were still things that I didn’t know and I could learn from the training.

Did you enjoy it?

Helen: I did enjoy it, I really did. It can be a bit daunting sometimes. I hadn’t sat down and written an essay since I was at university, so a good 15 to 20 years before starting the training. I felt a bit out of my depth at first, remembering how to do Harvard referencing and that kind of thing, but after a couple of essays, you get back into it.

Your apprenticeship was conducted remotely. Was there a sense of community within your cohort?

Helen: I think so. We had our sessions with Rod, where we’d sometimes break out into groups. We also met up for sessions outside of that if we wanted to share knowledge. It was useful to get a wide range of ideas and speak to others to find out how they’d approach things.

Everyone was approachable enough so that you could contact them or email them if you were a bit stuck with something they were particularly good at. Sometimes, Rod would put you in touch with someone within the apprenticeship training who knew more about a subject so that you could have a chat or share information with them. 

What’s next for you?

Helen: I started this role about three months ago so, at the moment, I see my future here. I’d like to spend a bit of time here and get to know this site and how to make it effective. I was surprised by how quickly it all happened and I’m glad I made the move – it makes me feel like all of the hard work was worthwhile. I’d like to think that in the future I’ll pursue the next level of the IWFM diploma Level 5 or Level 6.

Helen’s apprenticeship experience helped her consolidate what she knew and led her to the next step in her career. Our apprenticeships are for learners from all backgrounds and at any stage in their careers. 

If you’re interested in earning while you learn, and gaining new skills and knowledge while progressing within your organisation or career path, why not apply for apprenticeship training?

We caught up with a former CCCG Apprentice to find out about how her apprenticeship enhanced different aspects of her life.

There are many on-paper benefits to doing an apprenticeship: no student debt, practical training, good qualifications, networking opportunities and so on. But what does an Apprentice really gain off-the-page?

We interviewed former apprentice Libby Ellis to find out about what she felt she’d gained from doing an apprenticeship with Capital City College Group (CCCG).

Libby has worked at Surrey Council for the last 16 years, working her way up in various Facilities Management (FM) roles. She recently completed the Facilities Management Level 4 Apprenticeship, which includes the Level 4 Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) qualification.

Trying something new

Libby: My colleague Tara, who had previously completed an apprenticeship in Business Management, saw this one and she said I had to do it and that she was going to do it too. She encouraged me, having one apprenticeship under her belt, that this was a good thing for me to do, and that we’d do it together. 

Learning about a different side of the industry

Libby: I thought it was time to brush up on the skills that I’ve learned on the job and to get a better understanding of the overall picture of FM. 

Working for the county council, I see FM in a different way to those in private industry. We’re not making money, we’re supporting our colleagues so that they can do their job. So it was quite interesting for me to see the business side of FM. The experience I had before was limited to what I had seen in the council, so now I can see the bigger picture of FM and it just gave me wider knowledge. 

Gaining a recognised certification

Libby: I had the experience and I didn’t have anything official to show for it, so I like the fact that at the end of it, you get certified. You can demonstrate that this is the standard that you have now met and this is the standard that you’ve been educated to. 

Developing an expanded view of the field

Libby: Doing the apprenticeship opened my eyes up to a much bigger world of facilities management and the opportunities that were out there – such as different roles that some of the other cohorts were doing and some of the technology that other people had access to that I didn’t. It was a steep learning curve to begin with.

Receiving support from colleagues

Libby: To do an apprenticeship, you have to have an organization and a manager who is going to support you. You’re going to need the time to attend all the training sessions and do the assignments. At the time, my line manager said, “If it’s in your diary Lib, as long as I know what you’re doing, I’m happy.”

At one point I met with the energy team. I had an hour of their time where they walked me through energy management. If they hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been able to answer all the questions in the assignment to the best of my knowledge and that would have affected my overall grade and understanding of what was going on. They linked me to a couple of websites which I subscribed to and I now get energy newsletters. 

Gaining a wider range of resources

Libby: I was learning outside of the apprenticeship training, attending webinars and things like that just to expand my knowledge. It opened my eyes to a world of different parts of FM,  different ways to access information and where to subscribe to channels and TED Talks – things that I’d never considered before.

Accessing education through remote learning

Libby: I work full time and I’m a mum – there aren’t enough hours in the day to attend college as well. Because the apprenticeship training was completely remote, I never actually went into the college. If I’d had to have driven or got a train to a college, with that extra time that it puts into the day, it certainly wouldn’t have been possible to do that for two years.

I could be in the office working, have my two-hour tutorial, and then carry on working. That flexibility really helped.

Building a new approach to learning

Libby: I built learning into my routine. When I took my son on a Saturday morning to his morning activity, because of COVID we weren’t allowed into the sports hall. We all had to sit in our cars, so I just made sure that I had a cup of tea and a relevant TED Talk lined up to watch while he was doing his activity. 

Joining more communities

Libby: I signed up to do loads more training with work and joined communities like the women’s network, the disability network, the carer’s network and the parent network because they have webinars and seminars to go to as well.

Surrey Council partnered with a charity working for period dignity. That was another webinar I joined because it was going to affect how we manage things within facilities management, such as where we put the PHS bins, access to period products and even the language you use around that sort of thing.

Growing in confidence

There are all sorts of things that I just wouldn’t have had my eyes open to if I wasn’t doing the apprenticeship. I just felt like I could put myself forward for more things because it was going to help me learn and develop. I think it gave me a lot more confidence, which I wasn’t really expecting as an outcome. I expected to learn. I didn’t expect it to give me more confidence.

Using the apprenticeship to land a new role

Libby: I applied for a new role as a Business Improvement Manager. I used all the knowledge that I’d gained through doing the apprenticeship in my interview. I demonstrated the things that I knew were needed like the contract management elements of the apprenticeship. Although I hadn’t done it, I theoretically could explain it and apply it to a scenario. I used the things that I learned through doing the apprenticeship in my interview and was successful. I’ve been in my new role since July.

Catching the learning bug

Libby: In the immediate future, I’m going to do the NEC4 Contract Management training because that’s going to be a large part of my job. I did have a little peruse on the apprenticeship website to see if there was anything on there and there are a couple of Business Improvement apprenticeships that I quite like the look of. I think I need a bit more time to get into this role to work out what I really need, but another apprenticeship is definitely a consideration to make. 

“I expected to learn. I didn’t expect it to give me more confidence.”

Whether you’re drawn to Accounting and Bookkeeping, Health and Social Care, Catering and Hospitality or Construction and Plumbing – take a look at our apprenticeships and see if there is training that can help you fulfil your potential!