WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

W

4 V The first cohort ten years ago

Ashley

Courtney

SPRING 2020 W arethey now here

?In 2009, the college launched their apprenticeship provision, supporting ten apprentices with business administration skills. In the decade since, quality and growth have gone hand in hand, with over 1,500 apprentices supported by the team in the last academic year. Ten years later, we caught up with two of those apprentices. Courtney Winstanley and Ashley Gatto, both started out in the first cohort of apprentices ten years ago. A decade on, their lives have taken them on separate journeys, but they still both pay credit to their apprenticeship. When Courtney finished school at the age of 16 with a selection of high GCSE grades, she felt that the A-level to university route was the one she had to take. However, from her first day, she knew something wasn’t right. She explained: “On my first day of sixth form I was in my lesson and I remember thinking ‘What am I doing here? I don’t want to be a doctor. I don’t want to be a lawyer. I just want to work’.” She continued: “I just knew that I wouldn’t need a degree to do what I wanted to do, so I would just be wasting time if I were to go down that pathway.” Upon researching possible alternatives, Courtney decided that an apprenticeship in Business Administration was the way forward. Courtney states: “When I said business administration people tended to roll their eyes and think all you do is scan and photocopy. But it’s so much more than that. It was how to structure documents, how to research and many other skills. If I hadn’t have done all that and gone on more of a traditional route, I think that personally, I wouldn’t have hit the ground running as fast I did. I don’t think that I would have been in a management position by now.” Whilst completing her apprenticeship, she worked within both the HR department and the apprenticeship recruitment team at the college group headquarters. Courtney added: “When I worked at the college as part of the apprenticeship team, I actually helped recruit apprentices. So, at that moment in time it was as if I had actually come full circle, it was really rewarding.” After completing both her level 2 and level 3 she continued working in HR, moving to the HR Academy in Aldi five years ago. Explaining her progression through Aldi, Courtney said: “I started as a Personnel Development Assistant, then was promoted to a HR IT Analyst. It wasn’t until the summer of 2019 when I was promoted to Recruitment Team Leader.” In her role at Aldi, Courtney manages a team whilst looking after all recruitment across the UK for store managers, logistic management and head office roles. This is the first time Courtney has worked in a management role, and she cited that many of the key principles she learnt from the apprenticeship ten years ago have helped her. Explaining her role, Courtney explained: “A lot of my job is focussed on recruitment and candidate screening and reviewing video interviews for the recruitment that take place. I work closely with our hiring managers on best practice recruitment.” Ashley Gatto started off on the same apprenticeship as Courtney ten years ago, however, he continued his journey working with the college. Starting off by working in reprographics and on receptions across the college, Ashley then progressed to a full-time position in student services. He continued: “I’ve recently been appointed as a Digital Learning and Assistive Technology Leader. I now deal with all the assistive technology over the five colleges in Salford. In my role, I work with students with ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia alongside supervising the smooth running of the Digital Learning Zone.” Over the last ten years, apprenticeship numbers have increased massively. However, there is still more to be done. Raising the profile of apprenticeships is a matter at the forefront of Ashley’s job. He explained: “I help so many students everyday who struggle with their UCAS applications. They often ask me, ‘Which university did you go to?’ and when I tell them I didn’t go, they are shocked.” “There is often a perception that you can only work in education if you have a degree and so when I say ‘I did an apprenticeship’, it sparks an interest.” With such a variety of apprenticeships on offer, it doesn’t mean that you can’t go to university. There are now apprenticeships that embed degrees within them. Over the last few years, Courtney has completed her Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) level 5 and level 7. Through completing her level 3 apprenticeship, she was able to progress and gain a qualification which is the equivalent of doing a Master’s Degree. Courtney explained: “I just think that apprenticeships are a really good way to get qualifications and if you already know that you don’t want to be a doctor, and you don’t necessarily need the traditional university route for the job you are after, then it’s worth pursuing. There are so many degree level apprenticeships now that are amazing.” In 2017, the apprenticeship levy was first introduced with the aim of creating and funding three million apprenticeship starts by 2020 nationally. “Because the levy is pretty much the focus of all employers’ strategies at the minute, there’s so much available right now. It’s not just business administration, construction or beauty, it’s so varied.” Becoming an apprentice has a variety of benefits and will allow an individual to explore different areas of working. Explaining the pros of apprenticeships, Ashley said: “I would advise anyone to do an apprenticeship because it’s such a hands-on experience. Through my apprenticeship, I’ve worked in many different departments and I have learnt a lot.” If you would like to become an apprentice, contact the team to find out more on: 0161 631 5555 or email apprenticeships@salfordcc.ac.uk