Apprenticeship Case Studies

 

Please view the Case Study Videos of some of our apprentices.

Vicky Gildea

Apprenticeship: Childcare Level 3 (Fast track)               

What made you choose an apprenticeship?

I finished school at 16 and didn’t find going to college everyday interesting. I knew I wanted to work with children so I called Kinder Haven who said they had an apprenticeship which really interested me. The nursery put me in contact with City Training Services. I went down to City Training in Little Germany, did some tests and had an interview.  I had an interview at Kinder Haven before I got the job.

What do you enjoy about the Childcare apprenticeship?

I really enjoy being an apprentice because it’s more hands on than being at college every day and I get to see first hand how to do things. When I first started the level 2 apprenticeship I originally had day release at college once a week.  I have now progressed to a level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship and I’m on the fast track course so I go to college once a month. Emma, my tutor at City Training Services comes to see me once a fortnight at the nursery to see how I’m progressing and she will go through my work and set me more so that I can complete my apprenticeship.  I like the fact that I have one-to-one’s with my tutor as we can work through anything that I might be struggling with. I have learnt all about health and safety and child protection. The fast track option is very fast paced which is great and I am close to having my Level 3 technical certificate completed already. Also, I don’t need to do any key skills as I got my GCSE grades at school.

What have you achieved since being an apprentice?

I’ve achieved loads since I started my apprenticeship, as well as completing Level 2 I’ve been on a lot of courses including food hygiene, health and safety and first aid. Since working here I’ve had role models to learn from and I find that doing my job comes naturally. I’ve completely changed the displays on the wall in our room so the children can be more interactive. We have a festival wall that is updated with all types of religious festivals and we have one wall that has a different theme every month.

In the next few months I want to enrol on more courses like behavioural management. I also want to complete Level 3 and Level 4 by January which I should do with the fast track.

When I started here I was helping to look after the 2-3 year olds and 0-1 year old babies in the ‘twinklets’ room. I’ve already been promoted to ‘senior’ which means I’m now responsible for the 2 year olds and they are my favourite age group! When I was doing my Level 2 I gained experience in all of the rooms. I really enjoy looking after the 2-3 year old children as I help to teach them to talk and help them with things like fastening their coats or tying shoe laces.

Looking to the future

I want to complete the advanced apprenticeship and maybe in a few years time I can see myself being a teacher working with young children.

---

Jessica Marsden

Apprenticeship: Business Administration

Age: 18

 

What made you choose an apprenticeship?

It took a while for me to decide, I went to college after I left school but it wasn’t for me. I was working at a fast food restaurant at the same time and I found that working interfered with my studying, I had so much work to do I couldn’t go to college and work so many hours. My partner is doing the light vehicle repair apprenticeship at City Training Services in the auto centre and he mentioned that there were other apprenticeships available. I went to see my Personal Adviser at the Connexions Centre and they helped me think about what was really right for me. I then had to think really carefully about my options because I was offered another job at the time I was applying for the apprenticeship. I went for the apprenticeship as it offered more in the long term.

 

The apprenticeships seemed like a good balance and business administration was what I wanted to do and more in-line with my career plan.

 

How did you apply for the apprenticeship?

I rang City Training Services, filled out an application form and had an interview and some tests. I got accepted and City Training Services found me an apprenticeship at a company in Bradford. I went along for a chat, did a few more office-based tests and they asked me to start the week after!

 

What do you enjoy about the Business Administration apprenticeship?

I like the fact that the course progresses me at work and I’m not stuck doing the same thing every day. Now I’m looking to do my level 3 I’ve pushed myself further than I would have done in a normal job. I enjoy Wednesday afternoons when I go to City Training Services in the afternoon for college. It’s a really good  atmosphere and the tutors are really helpful. The assessors and tutors know how to get the most out of me.

 

What have you achieved since being an apprentice?

I feel like I’ve achieved a lot. I’ve got a lot more confidence overall and at work. I often have reviews with my assessors and manager and this lets me see what my employer thinks is going well which can be really positive. I’ve achieved a lot on the administration side of things and the business wants me to progress in terms of being more involved with the company.

 

Looking to the future

I’m hoping to complete my level 2 in the next month so I can focus on level 3. Hopefully the company will want to keep me on and I’d love to stay there. Then I can decide whether I continue to stay in general administration or move into a more specialised area of administration.

 

What’s a typical day like?

I spend half a day doing reception duties and split this with another administrator. I’ll check emails, sort the incoming and outgoing post and do any jobs I need to do for other departments. Most days are different which is good.

---

Richard Rawnsley

Jiffy Trucks, Shipley

Fabrication & Welding Level 3

 

What made you decide to become an apprentice?

I didn’t enjoy school much but while I was there I did some work experience in fabrication & welding  before I left. I went to a careers fair and spoke to City Training Services and discussed my options. I decided that an apprenticeship would suit what I wanted to do. I also had a few friends that were already apprentices through City Training Services.

 

How did you apply for the apprenticeship?

I went to an enrolment day at City Training Services had an assessment and I did some tests. I knew that I wanted to do an engineering based apprenticeship and with my previous work experience I chose fabrication and welding.

 

What do you enjoy about the course?

I enjoy learning my trade, working with everyone and earning my own money! I also enjoy going to college one day a week and gaining my qualifications. As well as all the qualifications I get to learn a lot of valuable skills at work everyday. There are people that work here that are around my age so I can socialise with them outside of work.

 

 

What have you achieved since being an apprentice?

I’ve gained a lot of qualifications like CAD and been on first aid courses. I’ve also learned a lot of manual skills within fabrication & welding because I’m learning on the job.

 

 

What do you hope to achieve?

I want to complete my advanced apprenticeship. In the future I think I’d like to teach fabrication & welding, because I really enjoy what I do, it would good to combine what I’ve learnt by teaching other apprentices.

 

What’s a typical day like?

I start at 7.30am, put my overalls on and get straight into work. We have a break before lunch which is at 12.30. Then I work until 4pm on various jobs. At the minute, I’m working on sheet metal so we work with the frame of the truck and add the panels to make up the body or shell of the Jiffy Truck.

 

---