Apprenticeships

Francesca - Apprentice Teaching Assistant, Whitley Abbey Primary School

What does your apprenticeship involve on a day-to-day basis?

The most interesting part of my job is the children and how they all have different learning styles and personalities. I love watching a child have a lightbulb moment where they understand what you’ve said and apply it.”

What has been your greatest challenge? How have you dealt with it?

“The greatest challenge is coping with the level of responsibility that you have with children’s education. I ensure I remember that each child is different and that they will require different levels of intervention. Some days will be really chaotic and you feel like you’re chasing your tail, but it’s always worth it.”

What are your plans once you finish your Apprenticeship?

“I plan to enrol on to a PGCE and train to become a Primary School Teacher specialising in Key Stage 1.”

Aaron - Customer Service Apprentice, Customer Services

What does your apprenticeship involve on a day-to-day basis?

“I undertake lots of tasks within the phones team for Children’s Services. I get supported by my mentor on the phones to show me how transfer the call or take a message. I contact Social Workers to pass on messages and I look up information and enter updates into our database. I also undertake a variety of administrative tasks including booking appointments for people in their calendars."

What do you find most interesting about your role?

“The thing I find the most interesting is talking to a wide range of different people. Each time you answer the phone you speak to different people so talking to a variety of personalities is interesting."

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about applying for an apprenticeship?

“The first piece of advice I would give is to be confident to ask questions, don’t be shy to ask any questions because at the start of an apprenticeship you will have a lot and you’ll need to ask them.

I would also advise someone applying for an apprenticeship to find out as much about the apprenticeship they are thinking of doing first.  Do a little research about the apprenticeship just to give you a little understanding of what the job role is.

Finally, I would advise being enthusiastic about the tasks that you have been set, if your manager sees that you have a positive approach to tasks they give you and you are showing them you’re interested in doing your best, it will help further down the line in the apprenticeship because they will recognise your hard work.”

Jasmin, Apprentice Benefits Officer, Revenues and Benefits

What does your apprenticeship involve on a day-to-day basis?

"My day-to-day tasks are to index Free School Meals (FSM) e-mails and inputting Change of Circumstance forms on our system. We make sure that the school are receiving the correct FSM funding and have the right information for the children on their database.”

What do you find most interesting about your apprenticeship?

"The most interesting thing about my apprenticeship is supporting customers through the application process. This allows me to learn more about the services we offer to customers and what they are eligible to apply for.”

How will your Apprenticeship help you with your future career?

“My apprenticeship will help me progress in my future career as I can support people in the right way and learn more throughout this experience. I am excited to grow as an individual as well as make a positive impact for our customers. I also think this a great opportunity for me to expand my knowledge and skills as well as push myself further in a great department.”

Jacob, Highways Apprentice, Highway Maintenance

What does your apprenticeship involve on a day-to-day basis?

“I undertake a wide variety of tasks each day in relation to road and highways repair and construction. This involves things such as preparing ducting ready for cables, tarmacing and kerb laying.

I need to ensure everything I do is accurate so that things are done right the first time; otherwise it would have to be done again, wasting time and money.”

What was your experience in the first month of your apprenticeship?

“I have been very well supported by my manager.  When we first went to Doncaster to attend college, he took us there and back and then on our first residential he came with us for the outward journey, so we were confident in where we were going when we returned and for the next time. I have got shown lots of new skills and am learning all the time. The team I am with are supportive, patient and helpful. I am really enjoying it.”

What are your plans when you finish your apprenticeship?

“I will hopefully, with all the skills I have learnt, be able to keep on working for Coventry City Council in Highways Maintenance.  I think it is a great organisation to work for.”

Charleigh, Events Apprentice, Event Management

What do you find most interesting about your job?

"My job is extremely interesting and I have been fortunate enough to have worked such a large array of events so far. The Radio One Big Weekend was the first event I was involved in. I thoroughly enjoyed going behind the scenes of such an immense event to see how it is planned and put together.

Since then I have worked on many events including: the Godiva Festival, the International Children’s Games and the Queen’s Baton Relay. What I love most about my job is that every day is different, with different challenges to overcome and countless memories made!”

How will your apprenticeship help you with your future career?

"My apprenticeship will set me up for a great career in events. Being part of the council I also get a lot of opportunity to work with other teams, meaning my knowledge and skills are greater than I had ever would have expected.”

What advice would you give to someone thinking about applying for an apprenticeship?

"I am a massive advocate for apprenticeships having already completed one and now completing this one; I am fortunate to have gained such a wide range of knowledge and skills whilst earning my certification at the same time.

Getting to ‘earn while you learn’ makes my work life balance much easier. As I don’t need to have a secondary job alongside earning qualifications I have a lot of downtime to myself. Apprenticeships tend to bring together like-minded people and I have met lots of great people through my apprenticeship.”

Tyler, Combustion and Heating Apprentice, Repairs and Maintenance

What does your apprenticeship involve on a day-to-day basis?

"On a day-to-day basis I can be doing various tasks including: plumbing, gas engineering, general labouring, gas servicing, or changing parts on boilers."

What do you find most interesting about your apprenticeship?​

I like meeting new people and spending time in a work environment. I enjoy getting familiar with and understanding the history of the buildings.  I also get to learn new skills and develop my knowledge on the job."

What advice would you give to a person who is thinking about applying for an apprenticeship?

“If you are interested in getting a job within the council then an apprenticeship is a great way to start, you gain hands on experience and gain a qualification and put into practice your skills and understanding into a job" 

Medina, Digital Marketing Apprentice, Employer Hub

What does your apprenticeship involve on a day-to-day basis?

“As a Digital Marketing Apprentice my role focusses on social media and marketing activities promoting the work of the Employer Hub. This involves creating promotional material for upcoming job opportunities, events and other programmes advertised through The Job Shop.

Recently I have also been liaising directly with customers and supporting them with any queries through various social media platforms.

What was your experience like in the first month of your apprenticeship?

"Within my first month at the council, I was welcomed by many friendly faces and an amazing team. As a recent school leaver, it took some time to adjust to my new surroundings, but I can now say that I am growing in confidence daily, and this is something that has been fed back to myself and my manager through various colleagues and would not have been possible without the support from my team.”

What do you find most interesting about your apprenticeship?

"I have found it interesting learning about different roles within different sectors and what qualifications / courses may be necessary.

Additionally, I have also found that I enjoy having the option for hybrid working, spending some days at the Job Shop and others working from home.”

Finlay, Highways Technical Apprentice, Highways Technical Team

What does your apprenticeship involve on a day-to-day basis?

"My apprenticeship varies day-to-day as there are multiple tasks and projects happening for me to get involved in. In the first few months of my apprenticeship I was involved the works being done on the ring road which was a big project to be exposed to so early on. Within the Highways department there are multiple teams, meaning all the work is different; one day I could be working in structures, doing bridge or wall inspections and the next I could be in footways doing levelling or organising a scheme. The variety of work allows me to challenge myself whilst also learning new skills and seeing all the different aspects of the job."

What do you find most interesting about your apprenticeship?

"The most interesting part of my role is the variety of the tasks, there is always something new to do and be a part of. This allows me to be able to learn a lot from not only from my training, but working alongside the skilled and experienced engineers who take time to explain and show me the correct way to handle tasks. 

How is your apprenticeship helping you with your career goals? 

“My apprenticeship gives me the opportunity to learn and develop my skills and knowledge in my chosen career of Civil Engineering.  It gives me a good overview of the industry and the different aspects of working within Coventry Highways department."

Jessica, Apprentice Fleet Technician, Integrated Transport

What does your apprenticeship involve on a day-to-day basis?

"My apprenticeship can vary hugely depending on what jobs require completing each day. On my first day I was introduced to welding which I had never done before, my brilliant mentor talked me through how to get a good weld. I learn something new every day and I’m an extra pair of hands when anyone needs them. I truly enjoy the new experiences and challenges.“

What was your experience like in the first month of your apprenticeship?

"The most interesting thing about my job is how varied the work can be. There is always something different about each job and how each mechanic approaches the job at hand; there are even some things that mechanics that have been in the trade for decades are new to. It is very interesting to see someone approach a job and take that information and adapt my own approach.”

What do you find most interesting about your apprenticeship?

"This apprenticeship will help my future career because I’m in a work environment learning the trade. I’m doing things for myself, and I’m not sat in a classroom. I’m learning and understanding what I need to do to be a good HGV mechanic.“

Usama, Finance Apprentice, Finance Support

What does your apprenticeship involve on a day-to-day basis?

“I carry out a variety of tasks in my apprenticeship depending on what needs to be done that day; this could be something I do on a regular basis or something I’ve never done before. An example of a task I undertake regularly is posting expense claims for foster carers on our system and then logging the claim on our tracking document.”

What is the most interesting part of your apprenticeship?

“The most interesting part of my role in Finance Support is being able to see the inner workings of a large organisation and how funds are managed and used within the Council.”

How will your Apprenticeship help you with your future career?

“This apprenticeship will help me in my future career by allowing me to learn the necessary skills and then be able to apply them in day to day work while being supported by both the my team and training provider.”

Harry, PE Apprentice, Whitmore Park Primary School

What does your apprenticeship involve on a day-to-day basis?

"In my apprenticeship I get to work both in setting up and delivering PE lessons as well as assisting in the classroom which is giving me a wide range of experience.”

What do you find most interesting about your apprenticeship?

“The most interesting of my apprenticeship is leading a class either in the classroom or part of a PE lesson, making sure all of the children are engaged and learning.”

What has been your greatest challenge?

“My greatest challenge is being more confident in dealing with behaviour in the classroom. I’ve worked on this by observing how others approach similar situations and learning from them.”

How will your apprenticeship help you in your future?

“My apprenticeship is helping me to gain the skills and experience I need to progress with my career ambitions.”