Advanced Apprenticeships: Real-world relevance supports students in career progression

Our excellent industry-specific apprenticeships enable professionals to apply new skills as they study, allowing employers to recognise and reward individuals as they develop.

Apprenticeships are a great way to build on existing skills and provide opportunities for growth. We spoke to recent apprenticeship graduate, Hannington Nsubuga, about his experience of completing the Facilities Management – Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship with Capital City College Training (CCCT). Shortly after completing his apprenticeship, Hannington was promoted by his employer – a direct result of his newly acquired skills and expertise.

What were you doing before you began your apprenticeship?

I was working for the Royal Free Hospital as a Facilities Assistant in the Dialysis Unit. I have been working in facilities for 9 years.

In my role, we manage facilities at the Royal Free Hospital that involve managing, cleaning and maintaining the hospital, providing meals to the patients along other in-house services. In addition to making sure that the environment is clean, we also ensure that health and safety regulations are followed.

Why did you choose to do the Facilities Management apprenticeship?

My manager recommended that I do the course as she thought it was fitting for me to take on the apprenticeship to build and improve my skills. I was able to enrol on the apprenticeship through my employer.

The apprenticeship took place over two years and sessions took place online. During this time, my employer gave me a day off in the week as study leave to do my reading and research including the assignments.

What other training had you done prior to the apprenticeship?

I did Step Up to Lead, a management training course that was provided by my employer.

What did you like about the course?

My tutor Rod was very helpful. When I was doing assignments I could always consult him and he could advise me where to do research.

I really liked that some of my colleagues were also in my class. Two colleagues from the Royal Free Hospital were in my group and that really helped me to progress. We used to have a group discussion every Thursday. We could go online and discuss when we were doing our assignments and research.

How did the course help you build on your skills in your current role?

There are so many practical things I learnt from the course which I really use in my role such as health and safety. We also learnt about different styles of management and leadership which is crucial in the role I’ve recently taken on.

During the course, we learnt about business continuity planning and social corporate responsibility – things I didn’t know about before. We also learnt about energy saving and different types of sourcing for Facilities Management. There are so many things that are practical in my day-to-day role which I learnt from the course.

What was your favourite part of the course?

I really liked the business continuity planning part because we sometimes have emergencies at the hospital where I work. For instance, while I was on my course there was a flood within the hospital and I saw first-hand how business continuity planning could be implemented. We had to move patients from one place to another as the area was being renovated. I took part in the process and could see how this [business continuity planning] was very important. It was great to see something I’d just learnt being implemented in my day-to-day work

How did you interact with other students in your cohort?

I mainly interacted with my colleagues from the Royal Free who were on the course but I also interacted with other students in discussions when we had to prepare for the end of the course and our exams.

Phillip Moore used to take us through discussion groups and help us prepare for our exams. In our group sessions with him, I got to know many other students from other companies and listened to their ideas and questions, which was really helpful. Rod would also join discussions and listen in so that he could tell us how to improve on our responses and ideas.

What did you find challenging about the apprenticeship?

It was demanding to be working full time and doing research and assignments at the same time. Towards the end, it was challenging to submit the assignments on time and I did get behind with a couple of them. I asked my manager to give me more time off and I managed to do more research and submit all the assignments. It was challenging but I had support from both my tutor and my line manager.

What advice would you give to anyone thinking about doing an apprenticeship?

It’s really important to choose a course that is fitting for your role. I’d recommend anyone who has the chance to do an apprenticeship to do a course related to their job. I’d recommend them to use CCCT as I found my tutor Rod to be particularly helpful.

How have things changed as a result of the apprenticeship?

After completing my apprenticeship, my manager was keen to find me a role that would enable me to apply the skills I’d acquired. In July 2024, I was promoted to Facilities Assistant Supervisor.

The apprenticeship has absolutely contributed to my promotion. That’s why, as soon as I got the promotion, I made sure I informed my tutor about it and he was very happy for me.

What’s next for you?

I am now in a new role and I’ve got a chance to progress. Before I was promoted, I was working in the Dialysis Unit where there was no room for promotion. I’ve now moved to the main hospital where there are opportunities for promotion and my manager has assured me that the sky’s the limit now that I’ve got the skills.

We offer a broad range of apprenticeship training covering multiple professional fields. Please speak to your employer about training with us.

If you are unemployed and wish to do an apprenticeship, take a look at our apprenticeship vacancies.

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