I started my apprenticeship as a Business Administrator with OCF in October last year, and I am writing this post as a way of sharing a little bit about the apprenticeship and my insights so far…
I like the idea of learning the theory of things and putting it into practice. An apprenticeship offered exactly what I was looking for. I could jump straight into the work industry while learning how do to my job.
When I started my apprenticeship with OCF, I honestly did not know what to expect. I was excited of course because it was something new and an opportunity to learn and gain professional experience. However, when I first started, I encountered a few challenges.
The first challenge was adapting to new terminology used in this industry. At first there were moments where I would get confused and lost on what was being said because I did not know many of the acronyms being used. But active listening played a big part in the start because constantly listening to the terms used and sometimes googling or asking colleagues the meaning of the ones I didn’t understand has helped me learn the terminology.
I also found myself in an industry that is male dominated, which I won’t lie was kind of intimidating for reasons we all know. For myself personally, I also felt the insecurity of being new to the industry and bringing little experience into the table, which gave me a concern of being treated differently or not respected as a professional. But after a time at the company, I can say that this insecurity was just in my head. I was pretty lucky to find nice people that are mindful of the fact that I am still learning things and who understand that I am part of the team and deserve the same respect regardless of my level of experience.
Personally, the best part of this apprenticeship journey is being able to learn on the job while getting experience. I get to learn the relevant skills for my role and practice them on a day-to-day basis.
Another thing I really value about this is having mentors. Having people who can guide me has played a huge role in the development of my confidence and skills. I’ve found people who have been patient, helpful and are always willing to answer my questions.
Having the opportunity to work with experienced people is something I really like because there is always something to learn from them. I also find it very interesting hearing about different professional pathways and understanding a little bit more about different departments and how each and every role contributes to the overall success of the business.
Although I still have a few months left in my apprenticeship program, I can say that this has been a good journey, I have learned a lot about the industry and have been developing great skills that help me do my job.
I have been learning more about the High-Performance Computing world, which is something I had no previous knowledge about. Being inside the organisation allows me to see everything that OCF brings together and how the company delivers brilliance together to its customers.
I work closely with the Sales Team. Learning how sales work for a business like OCF, that operates in the IT services and IT consulting industry, is something I really enjoy. Probably, because it is different from the concept of sales I was familiar with (which was more Business to Consumer), but now I get to see how selling Business to Business works in a real scenario.
Being part of the team offering administrative support to the OCF Sales and Bid Teams has helped me develop my knowledge in the administrative sector. It has also helped me improve as a professional. During this time, I’ve further developed my technical skills through the hands-on experience of my role. I’ve been learning how to effectively communicate with my colleagues and partners and how to deliver presentations. I’ve learned how to efficiently manage my time and balance my workload alongside my studies while prioritising tasks and meeting deadlines.
With all that said, I guess that the question that comes into mind is knowing what I know now, would I do it again? And my answer is yes! This apprenticeship has been full of learning experiences not only in the workplace but also in college. During my lessons, I learn the theory aspects of my job and I get to test it out in the workplace. My apprenticeship has helped develop my confidence and my ability to work independently, although I have mentors and people to rely on, I have also learned to be more independent and responsible for my own workload.
An apprenticeship is full of opportunities to explore and develop your skills. It can help you to build a professional network with other people, get a qualification at the end from your training provider and the skills and professional knowledge can be easily transferable to other roles.
So, if you are thinking about an apprenticeship go for it but be sure to do your research and consider it carefully. If you are interested in learning more, follow this link to the Gov.UK website about apprenticeships and start applying today at https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship.