NATIONAL CAREERS WEEK:

As one of the World’s Top Recruitment companies, Gi Group has collected some testimonials during the National Careers Week: below you will find some extracts from various experiences in different roles, that will certainly provide some guidance to every person looking for advice on how to progress in their career.

Chloe Satchwell, Branch Administrator

How has your career developed over the years?
I was initially employed as an Apprentice on the Business Administrator Level 2 programme. I completed that and went on to also complete Level 3. Doing so,
helped me to secure a permanent role with my Employer.

How has learning and development helped you with your career?
I’d always wanted to be an Admin, but securing a role in this sector might be challenging without relevant experience. Both apprenticeships allowed me to gain invaluable experience and apply my newfound knowledge and skills on a daily basis. It also allowed me to progress my career and improved my confidence.

Sam Ashton, Shift Supervisor

How has your career developed over the years?
I started as a Warehouse Operative, went on to be a Step-Up Co-Ordinator during peak and then secured a Supervisor role.

How has learning and development helped you with your career?
I successfully completed the Warehousing and Storage Level 2 Apprenticeship. The aspects I learned during this opened up many more opportunities and allowed me to move up the career ladder with my employer. Having a better understanding of processes and procedures has improved my confidence and ability to be a successful Supervisor.

Grace Keeling, Trainee Recruitment Consultant

What is your current job role?
My current job role is a Trainee Recruitment Consultant. I am looking after all of our temporary business. I am responsible for recruiting temporary workers and registering them for work. I interview them so I know exactly what their needs are. I meet clients, help them to fill bookings and match them to temporary workers we have available.
I also help to grow the business so my desk is profitable. I payroll these people weekly and have to make sure wages are accurate and invoicing is correct so we don’t have queries.

How has your career developed over the years?
My career has developed massively since my Level 2 Business Administration Apprenticeship as I now have full knowledge on all administration related tasks I complete in my role. I am competent at Administration – I have been able to learn how to complete an admin task correctly which has allowed me to progress to the next step and receive a promotion into a Trainee Consultant role. The apprenticeship helped me to see why we follow processes and how they play a part in my job.

How has learning and development helped you with your career?
Learning and development has helped me with my career as it has made me more confident in speaking on subjects relating to my job. I have now taken on a Trainee Consultant role and I believe that without my apprenticeship I would have not been able to do this.

Hayley Pickering, Operations Manager

What is your current job role?
My current Job Role is an Operations Manager for M1. I manage 3 food sites, 2 manufacturing sites and a Branch. I have a total team of 21 with 5 Managers that directly report into me.

How has your career developed over the years?
Around 1 year after completing my BIT Apprenticeship, I was promoted from an Operations Support Manager to an Operations Manager. This saw my responsibility grow, as I now had full responsibility of the Branch and Sites.

How has learning and development helped you with your career?
My confidence grew with my maths, as I had to complete the Functional Skills exam in Mathematics (a Subject which is not my strong point) so with going into a new role whereby I would be working out charge rates, I felt I had been given the tools to support with this. I can also go into the branch or the on sites and look at ways of improving the offices with the 5S Module. This is key when the space is limited and we need to store a lot of items.

Jamie Smith, Payroll Administrator

What is your current job role?
My job role is a Payroll Administrator, which involves inputting data from branches onto timesheets as well as exports to process payroll for temps that have worked for the branches or companies near the branch.

How has your career developed since finishing your Apprenticeship?
Before I had the Apprenticeship, I was searching for a job without much luck of getting any opportunities. As I have gone through the Apprenticeship, I have gained skills and gained confidence that can be used outside of the workplace. Since finishing my Apprenticeship, I have been able to gain further knowledge about payroll as a result of my knowledge and experience I have gone permanent with Gi Group.

How has learning and development helped you with your career?
At the start of my Apprenticeship, I didn’t have much confidence, as I have gained more experience and I am with the same people every working day, I have gained a lot more confidence from having those two things that are consistent.
Along with my confidence, there is also skills such as communication, teamwork, time management, prioritising that can be used outside of the workplace as well as in the workplace. I have also learnt about Equality and Diversity, which I can adopt both in and outside of work.
There are also skills that I have learnt after finishing my Apprenticeship, which are things that don’t get taught in schools and colleges, such as being able to check the payslips and to make sure that I am being paid correctly. As well as understanding Tax and NI which is something that I am learning with the help of the Payroll Manager and the Payroll Supervisor if I’m not sure about that certain topic or it is out of my knowledge base. There is always the challenge with payroll of getting everything right with that being said there are times when I have made a mistake within the payroll and that is a learning experience, which I can then adapt how I do certain things with payroll in order to do it correctly in future.

Katie Lockwood, Senior Administrator

What is your current job role?
Currently I work as senior administrator for Gi Group at Boots.

How has your career developed over the years?
I finished college and did my A levels, but was not sure what I wanted to do. I realised that I would rather start working so at the age 19 I was offered an opportunity to enrol on the Business and Admin Level 2 Apprenticeship at Boots. An apprenticeship sounded like a good idea because I would get to learn and work at the same time. On my first day, I wasn’t really sure what to expect because I wasn’t too sure about the apprenticeship side of things as I had been happy to get out of school, but this was different. Because it was something I did enjoy and wanted to learn about, I find it much easier and actually wanted to do the work. In addition to that, I was learning and working and I could see how my business and admin knowledge and skills were developing”.
Because of completing my apprenticeship, I was offered a permanent contract as an administrator which I was happy to accept.

How has learning and development helped you with your career?
The apprenticeship helped to pass my maths qualification, which I struggled passing at school, and I was very happy about gaining recognised qualification in maths. Not only that but I also gained recognised qualification in Business and Administration Level 2 and I learnt many skills such as conducting interviews with new starters. I developed good speaking and listening skills which are very important in my job. The hours took a bit of getting used to but it is nice to have recognition when I achieved my qualifications. I felt that I have come a long way and my confidence and belief in my abilities has increased so much because of learning in the apprenticeship and achieving recognised qualifications in the area I was working. I would say to anyone who is thinking about doing an apprenticeship to definitely do it. It is nothing like being at school. As well as working and earning some money, you also get a qualification, which is important. It’s been great for me and has really helped me to progress further in my career and now I am senior administrator and have worked in this office for 6 years.

Vicki Wilson, Senior Trainer

What is your current job role?
I’m currently a Senior Trainer working in the ESL Department of Gi Group. I deliver training to Apprentices completing a multitude of programmes – this includes training on programme specific topics, functional skills and wider learning subjects such as British Values and the Prevent Duty. I then complete assessments of the learners’ work and ensure they are prepared for the end point assessments. I am also a Mental Health First Aider and the Safeguarding and Prevent Lead.

How has your career developed over the years?
I started with Gi Group in January 2013 as a Trainee Recruitment Consultant. I spent the following 5 years in the branch network as an Industrial Consultant, a Service Consultant and a Driving Consultant. In May 2018 I moved over to the ESL team as a Trainer, and in December 2019 I progressed into the role of a Senior Trainer.

How has learning and development helped you with your career?
I completed a Recruitment Level 3 Apprenticeship which helped me dramatically. I was able to pass my ICT Level 2 exam and the apprenticeship enabled me to put my existing skills into practise and learn new, improve my knowledge, and understand how to adapt my behaviours to accommodate different scenarios. This improved both my capabilities and confidence which helped me be more successful. I have also completed my REC and LLUK qualifications through Gi Group which have further developed my knowledge, skills and behaviours, and helped me feel more confident in my roles.



We sincerely hope these testimonials will motivate you to take a step towards your dream career: our colleagues show that with the right mindset and support, you can achieve your goals!
If you have any question or you require further details about our Apprenticeship Programmes, please contact us by calling 01246 264928, or email our Head of Employability, Skills and Learning – Kate.Maddison-Greenwell@gigroup.com