How apprenticeships boost employee confidence and benefit organisations: An employer perspective

We talked to Fran Wellington, Senior PA at Change Grow Live to find out more about the benefits of apprenticeships from a manager’s perspective.

Apprenticeships offer flexible and accessible learning to employees, but what are the benefits to employers? We talked to Senior PA Fran Wellington at the national health and social care charity Change Grow Live (CGL) about her experience of managing someone on an apprenticeship.

Fran Wellington is a Senior PA to one of the Executive Directors at Change Grow Live, a national health and social care charity offering support for people who want to change their lives through the provision of advice, treatment and support. Based at the charity’s Head Office in Kings Cross, Fran manages two PAs and receptionist Zak, who recently completed the Level 3 Facilities Management Apprenticeship with Apprenticeships+.

We spoke to Fran to get her perspective on the course and learn how Zak’s Level 3 Facilities Management Apprenticeship has benefited her organisation.

Have you supported people doing an apprenticeship course before?

I haven’t supported anyone doing an apprenticeship before so this was new for me – the whole process was new. Now that I’ve been through it once if someone in my team wanted to do an apprenticeship, I feel that I would be able to support them better.

Why did your company choose an apprenticeship with Apprenticeships+?

Within Change Grow Live, we have a learning and development team that supports a number of people doing apprenticeships with different training providers. When we were looking into apprenticeships for Zak, we came up with a shortlist of three options that we thought would work well for him. We looked at the course content, pass rates and feedback so that when it came to having a conversation about the different options, we were starting from a place of knowledge. We then met with Zak to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each one.

Even though everything is done online, we wanted to make sure that Zak would be able to access additional in-person help and support at the college if he needed it, so the course at Kings Cross was a good choice as it’s close to our Head Office where we’re both based.

What appealed to you about the course?

We looked carefully at the course content because Zak’s role has grown from being a receptionist to being responsible for a range of things at our Kings Cross office. This includes aspects of health and safety, managing meeting rooms and supporting colleagues with IT within the building. We knew he needed a course that included all of that and could give him the knowledge and skills to grow within our organization as Zak always embraces the opportunity to do something new.

What are the benefits of taking on an apprentice?

The main benefit that I saw was how Zak’s confidence grew as he was doing the course.  When Zak started the course, he wasn’t always the first to speak out in group settings but in his online classes, he was totally immersed – fully engaged with what he was doing and helping others on the course. Now that, to me, was the number one benefit.

As an organisation, we benefit from Zak’s skills and knowledge. When he started the course, he had a good surface-level knowledge of areas such as health and safety in that he knew how to do things and had some understanding of why we did them. Now, he’s got a much more comprehensive knowledge which includes understanding the legality around things so he can advise on different aspects. He will question whether we’re doing things correctly and ensure that we’re recording things properly. He’s already implemented some changes such as the way we check our water for legionnaires disease.

Zak now has a more expansive understanding of the wants and needs around the building. Before he started the apprenticeship, I might contact him to let him know I’d noticed something not working around the building. Now, when I do that I often find he’s already dealt with it.

How did you support Zak during his apprenticeship?

It was mostly about giving him time and space and supporting him where I could by giving him the confidence to move through the apprenticeship. 

As part of the course, they have to keep a timetable of what they’re doing. I realised that many of the jobs that Zak was doing within our organisation on a daily basis were relevant to his apprenticeship, so I’d point them out to him and remind him to log them.

Were there any challenges along the way that you would notice that you noticed as an employer?

I think the main challenge was getting Zak to see how valuable he is. I was always very encouraging to Zak in our group chats with the course tutor, Rod, and I knew that Rod would continue to boost his self-confidence in their one-to-one meetings. Zak had a really good relationship with Rod, and that really helped him grow in confidence.

What was the highlight of your experience with Zak as an apprentice? 

It was seeing him pass each part of the course. He just flew through it and loved it. I got to witness him develop as a person and see how much joy he got from the course and from working with the rest of his cohort. A lot of them were in commercial settings, whereas Zak was in a charity, and it didn’t faze him at all. They all had something different to bring to the table.

One of Zak’s strengths is his ability to reflect on what’s been said and adapt quickly. I could see how Zak took everything on board – whether it was praise or constructive criticism. A key highlight for me was being able to be open and honest with both Zak and Rod and to know that Zak would take our comments on board and react to them accordingly. 

I really appreciated Rod’s input, he was so positive and humanised everything in a way that worked really well. We had genuine conversations about how Zak was doing and we weren’t restricted in our meetings to straightforward feedback or simply relaying essential information.

Would you recommend doing an apprenticeship?

I highly recommend doing an apprenticeship. We’re all at different stages in our lives – we’ve got brain power, we’ve got the skills and we’ve got knowledge, but you actually need to have in-depth knowledge and skills to develop in your role and move on to something bigger and better. 

I’ve been supporting Zak so that he can develop and eventually move on from being in my line management and I have confidence that he will keep on growing and moving up within the organisation – even though I’ll be very sad to lose him from my team. Zak has done so well with his apprenticeship. He’s done it in such a timely manner which has been great for us as an organisation and we’re all incredibly proud of him. 

Apprenticeships+

Apprenticeships+ supports employers, employees, and jobseekers in pursuing apprenticeships. We provide clear guidance on funding options and processes to make apprenticeships accessible for everyone.

If you’re an employer looking to fill a vacancy or upskill your team and need support with the apprenticeship process, we’d love to hear from you!

If you’re employed and want to do an apprenticeship, view our range of apprenticeship courses.

If you’re unemployed and would like to apply for an apprenticeship, check out our apprenticeship vacancies.

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