Eleanor Osborne achieved an outstanding 100% achievement rate in her Level 3 Business Administration Apprenticeship and MITSkills is proud of her ongoing commitment and effort towards her qualifications.
She is progressing further into a higher-level apprenticeship.
We asked Eleanor how she found the experience.
Why did you decide to do an apprenticeship?
I decided to become an apprentice to help my confidence and work skills.
This is because I was able to learn on the job and to gain more knowledge as I applied my learning to real-life situations.
It was easy to find the apprenticeship that suited me as the gov.uk website has thousands of different opportunities for young people to help them gain more experience within the working world.
The interview process within MITSkills helped me make my decision as they were very calm as they knew I was young, and this was my first interview.
I do believe that MITSkills help to make sure that the young person they have employed gains the best knowledge they can while in their business to help them for the future.
What helped you continue with the apprenticeship?
I was really lucky to have the support from my friends, family, work based tutors and colleagues to complete my apprenticeship.
There were a few tricky times however I was able to turn to my assessor and mentor to help me see exactly why I was completing this apprenticeship.
My assessor helped and guided me the whole way through my apprenticeship to show me that I did know the answers even when I wasn’t sure myself.
My colleagues at MITSkills also gave me first-hand knowledge from their experience, which helped me see why an apprenticeship was the right route for me.
At that time, it was tough because I had to balance my work-life and find time to complete my course work. However, having the support from my colleagues made this feel easy, and helped complete my work on time.
What do you do on a day-to-day basis?
Within my role at MITSkills, I complete a variety of different tasks.
These include speaking to partners, solving their queries and having meetings with colleagues to discuss different processes.
I am also on the phone or email to various partners, answering their questions regarding paperwork or the different aspects of the journey.
I have a great relationship with the partners as I speak to them nearly every day.
Even though I am still learning, I am very much involved in process changes and partner relationships, which helps me grow in confidence as I am meeting a lot of new people all the time.
How has your tutor and workplace helped you?
My tutor has been so helpful through the course of my apprenticeship.
She was always there when I needed her to help me with a question and calm me down before my end-point assessment which was new to everyone at the time.
My tutor also gave me feedback on my work and showed me how to improve on my work, ensuring that I got a top grade in my apprenticeship.
I was able to speak to her whenever I needed to, even when I was struggling and wanted to change course, she was able to talk to me and show me how far I had come and how close I was to achieving my goal.
My colleagues helped me a lot due to the fact they believe that I could achieve my apprenticeship and come out with the top grade.
They mentored me into a confident person and helped me gain knowledge about all the different areas there were within MITSkills, which in turn helped with my end-point assessment.
What did you find hardest about the apprenticeship?
The hardest part of my apprenticeship was the balance between my work life and making sure I had completed my course work on time.
Things were especially difficult at the end of my apprenticeship as I was given more responsibilities at work because I was nearly qualified.
However, after discussions with my manager and tutor, we were able to come up with a solution which gave me time away from my desk so I wasn’t distracted by others and I could get on with my work.
I also found the end-point assessment very difficult as I was the second person MITSkills had going through the Business Administration at the time. I was unsure what to expect, and I didn’t have anyone to talk to due to the fact no one was sure how it would be.
How did you overcome any difficulties with the tasks?
Whenever I found parts of the apprenticeship difficult, I talked to either my tutor or my mentor, who would help me with the next steps of how to overcome the difficulties.
I would see what I needed to do and exactly how it would help me once I completed the tasks.
I think having someone who I can talk to really helped me overcome the difficulties, as they would explain things to me in greater detail and I could go and research more about the tasks or find little ways for remembering the information myself.
What did you enjoy most about your apprenticeship?
I enjoyed working with different people and on a different task, as I don’t like to be doing the same thing over and over again, therefore, it was nice to have something different to do each day as partners ask many different questions.
I have enjoyed working at MITSkills as they welcomed me to the team, helped me when I needed help, and they understood that I was young and didn’t have the same experience as they did.
My colleagues are very nice people. They guided me into knowing all the different parts of the business, and I now have answers that I didn’t have before.
I am glad to have completed my Level 3 BA Apprenticeship with a Distinction grade and had my graduation ceremony at Guildford Cathedral on the 30th September 2019.
What advice would you give to someone considering an apprenticeship?
It is the best way to learn as you are learning the criteria while you are putting this knowledge to the test in real-life situations.
You can also gain experience which is better than having any qualifications as future employers will look for that on your CV.
They will want to know you have got the knowledge to use your qualifications in good practice.
The employers who offer apprenticeships understand this may be your first job, therefore they won’t expect you to dive into the deep end and leave you by yourself, they will train you in becoming confident in what you are doing.
Ensure like me you have a great training provider behind you.