I have been in my role for almost 2 months now, and I wanted to update all of you about my progress, how an apprenticeship helped me prepare for my role, and how without an apprenticeship, what I have achieved could not have been achieved.
The progress made within these short 2 months has been nothing short of extraordinary. I’ve been able to settle into a great new department at UCL, that being the School of Management, getting to know my team, who are great to work with, as well as getting to grips and familiarising myself. I have been able and given the opportunity to consolidate my learning and knowledge through doing more complex tasks. I now take on more responsibility, which is reflected in the independence I get to manage myself to complete tasks on time, as well as handle more of a process or task, instead of a part and using the foundation I built, in terms of my skills and knowledge during my apprenticeship, and expanding on the strong foundation which I have, and use systems and tasks which I am familiar with, and use more of the system and complete more of the task.
The apprenticeship allowed me to gain an understanding of the higher system, and everything which goes on behind the scenes, from room bookings and timetabling from January for the next academic year, to handling EC’s requests. It allowed me to gain in confidence when dealing with tasks, which are based on university terminology and acronymic, for example module codes, or committees. I feel that, as an apprentice, I was given the opportunity to learn on the job, and make mistakes, something you can expect. So, the pressure was less, and I was able to focus on developing and learning more about my role. The pressure lifted off my shoulders from making mistakes, it allowed me to be ambitious and take on additional tasks and responsibilities.
I could not have achieved everything that I have done so far in my career if it weren’t for my apprenticeship, as it allowed me to get my foot through the door at a level which was suitable for me, in a highly competitive environment, and an environment and sector which people have specific knowledge in when it comes to, for example educational pages such as Moodle, student record systems such as Portico, and knowledge when it comes to key words, and acronymic specific to the higher education sector. An apprenticeship offered me a way in to gain knowledge and experience, although it was competitive, no doubt, it would have been more competitive if I was facing people with previous university administrative experience. UCL offers bespoke professional development opportunities and now offers Level 5 and 7 apprenticeships for existing staff, so even though I went with a Level 3, to get my foot through the door, the opportunities for me to develop my skills is endless, which is something I relish, and would not have been possible without an apprenticeship.
I hope you have all enjoyed reading this latest blog post, and hope to publish more in the coming months!
