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Back in August, Total People had a vacancy for an Accounts Apprentice who would be responsible for various tasks including Invoices, Expenses, Analysing the credit card statement and Grants to name a few.
After a couple of weeks advertising a vacancy, we received an application from a young girl called Brittany Hamer, who seemed perfect for the role. Brittany had just left school, lived close to our office, knew she didn’t want to go to 6th form or college… And was keen to start working!
She had no previous experience in a finance environment (or any work experience at all!), was a little shy, but showed a desire to start a career and learn more.
It can be a little daunting if you’ve never taken on an Apprentice before with things like the lack of knowledge, time needed to train, etc, but with the lack of skills also comes benefits. Apprentices can bring a fresh point of view and great new ideas to the team, you can also shape them to your business and how you want to operate.
Brittany was eased into her role with little jobs like emailing back to enquiries whilst she settled in and became more confident, then was introduced to her other roles as she progressed.
There was a little bit of “hand holding” at first which can be expected with someone that’s never worked before, but even after a couple of weeks, you could see she had grown tremendously.
A few months down the line and the training wheels are off. Brittany has fully settled into the team and is one of the “go-to” people. Her confidence has just shot up, she’s like a completely different person… Plus, this is only the beginning of her journey; the Apprenticeship is due to be completed in 2019!
To answer the original question “What is it like working with an Apprentice”, the answer is it’s just like working with anybody else. Everyone needs time to adjust to a new company, same as a school leaver needs time to get used to working. The enthusiasm that they bring is infectious and the office wouldn’t be the same without her!
