After doing a year in sixth form at school, Lucy Heathcock enrolled on a health and social care course at college and, whilst studying legislation and the business side of the healthcare industry, realised that she wanted to work in an office-based administration role in in the future.
Lucy, aged 20 – who is a Level 3 business apprentice in the college’s own apprenticeship team, said: “A recruitment officer from the college saw my CV online and contacted me about the vacancy within the team – I couldn’t believe it when I was offered the job!
“I successfully completed my Level 2 business apprenticeship last year, before progressing to Level 3 in September and I’ve learnt so much. I started the job without any experience, but my knowledge and confidence has increased every day. I didn’t know much about IT before but can use spreadsheets and all the college databases and monitoring systems now, and I struggled to answer the phone, but now I do it every day without even thinking about it!
“In my opinion learning on-the-job, as you go along, is better than being thrown in at the deep end as you would be if you started a full-time job. I feel more confident learning at my own pace and I have great support from my manager and colleagues if there’s anything I’m unsure about.
“I’m developing every day and every new thing I learn about the organisation will give me more opportunities to progress when I’ve completed my apprenticeship – I really hope I’ll be able to carry on working here!
“I really wish I’d done an apprenticeship sooner – I’ve got business experience as well as knowledge now and it will stand me in good stead for whatever roles I go into in the future.
