Loren joined Personnel Placements as our very first apprentice – she tells us her reasons for deciding to start an apprenticeship and how her role has developed.
I started at Personnel Placements in 2015 fresh out of education. After leaving school I studied Business at Wiltshire College; towards the end of my course I was unsure on what I wanted to do. I considered staying at the College for another year then going to University but I knew this wasn’t the route I really wanted to take. I wanted to work within the “real world” and continue with my education at the same time. This is when I started looking at Apprenticeships.
Personnel Placements came to the college to do mock interviews with us students, this is how I found out about their Apprenticeship vacancy and my college tutors suggested that I would be a suitable candidate. Two interviews later I was offered the position to start after my course had finished.
Learning New Skills
During my apprenticeship, I worked hands on within the team supporting them with administration and sourcing candidates. Day to day, I would greet visitors to the office, input information onto our database, file & can documents and answers phone calls. I also gained a level 3 NVQ in Business and Administration. Sarah from Alert Training, our learning provider, supported me with regular visits. All course work was done here onsite through an online learning portal.
After completing my apprenticeship, I was lucky enough to be given a permanent contract within the team at Personnel Placements. My role has changed significantly since starting at PP, I am now a fully trained Recruitment Consultant managing temporary recruitment as well as industrial permanent vacancies, speaking directly to many of our clients and interviewing candidates for the roles I am working on. I still meet with visitors to the office and regularly keep in touch with candidates that have registered with us.
Personal Development
Looking back over the past few years, a lot has changed. I now have experience within the “real world”, knowledge of the recruitment industry and have gained an additional qualification. However most importantly through my apprenticeship, I developed myself as a person. When I first started I was very shy and lacked confidence. The thought of making a professional phone call petrified me. Phone calls no longer scare me, my confidence has grown and I am more motivated. My apprenticeship has put me on the right path to progress and achieve my goals.
