It’s that time of year again where we spend some time talking to our apprentices about their journeys and showcasing their progression. For National Apprenticeship week 2024 we’re starting our blog series with Caitlin. All of the apprentice’s we’re speaking to this week are at different stages of the careers – and Caitlin is right at the start of hers!
Meet Caitlin
Caitlin joined Direct Air as the company’s new Trainee Business Administrator in August of 2023. Caitlin and her managers thought it would be beneficial for her to work through a course as she develops at Direct Air. Therefore, in November of last year, Caitlin enrolled onto the Level 3 Business Administration Apprenticeship as it aligned so well with her job role.
Why did you choose to start an apprenticeship?
I decided to enrol on to the apprenticeship because it meant I could learn on the job while gaining a qualification and for that reason I think an apprenticeship was the best route for me to be introduced to this working environment – I’m really happy with my choice so far!
The apprenticeship also means that I’m able to apply skills learnt in the classroom into my work at Direct Air. This helped me when getting used to working in an office environment, as this is different to my previous working environment.
What does your learning plan for college consist of?
At college one of the topics I am currently learning about is managing change, which is very helpful for my current situation as I have developed at work by moving from generally assisting the Service Support team to now also specialising in the Service Contracts area.
As well as this I’ve been learning about professional communication which will always be vital for me working at Direct Air, as I am constantly talking to internal and external stakeholders. Due to working more in Service Contracts I’m now speaking more to customers face-to-face because I visit customer sites with Direct Air’s Contracts Manager, Martyn.
Moving forward with my apprenticeship course, I’m also going to be developing my IT skills, which is really important for my role as the whole Service Support department uses a range of different digital documents to complete daily processes including spreadsheets, especially within Service Contracts.
Alongside this I’m excited to learn about Business Fundamentals, Planning and Organisation and Project Management.
What tasks are you taking on in the workplace?
Although my work consists more now of helping out Service Contracts, a lot of my working week still remains assisting the rest of the Service Support team. These tasks include requesting job sheets from Direct Air’s Service Engineers, as well as quoting service work with the help of our in-house Technical Support Team. I’m also on hand to occasionally cover my colleagues during holiday periods and part time working, which really helps the department stay on track and I’m proud that I have already developed the skills to be able to do this.
In the Service Contracts side of the Service Support department, I am working hard to learn about how the contracts work for different customers and assist in creating them. I’m really enjoying learning the process of costing the contracts depending on the level of the service agreement and which compressed air equipment the customer has. Drafting the contract documents helps me put the professional communication skills that I’ve been learning at college to use in a real working situation.
How will attending the workplace and college combined provide you with skills for life?
Enrolling onto this apprenticeship means that I will finish the course with the Level 3 Qualification alongside all of the working experience I’ve gained from being at Direct Air everyday. Having the skills and knowledge from the apprenticeship and the qualification to prove I am capable, means that I will be able to move forward and progress confidently in my job role at Direct Air.
I’m looking forward to completing this course over the next year and achieving a great qualification!