Jess – Business Administration Apprenticeship

When Jess joined the Traineeship programme in March, she was initially very apprehensive. She felt that she lacked self-confidence and was very conscious of how the experience of being in a new environment and meeting new people would impact her. Jess had a vague idea of what she wanted to do for her career; “something in business admin, but not quite sure what”. Working with her Tutor and Client Relationship Manager to fine-tune her ideas and found that she would like to work in a business environment that would appeal to both her business aspirations and her creative side.

Before long Jess had settled into the programme and was soon growing in confidence as her skills, knowledge and self-confidence boomed. By the end of the first 6 weeks, Jess had transformed from a shy nervous girl to a young woman keen to take her first steps into a work placement opportunity. She was once again very nervous about how the placement opportunity may go. However, before long she was flourishing in the working environment.

Jess attended her work experience at ‘Crafter’s Companion’ for 7 weeks and she loved every minute. Her role was varied and she had the opportunity to work in many departments within the business. Jess impressed the placement employer so much with her attitude, approach and willingness to learn that she was offered the opportunity to undertake an apprenticeship with them.

Throughout the entire Traineeship programme Jess’s attendance, punctuality and attitude was second to none. She approached each task with enthusiasm and remained focussed throughout. Jess has demonstrated how much can be accomplished in a short space of time and how valuable the Traineeship programme is to young people, in terms of helping them to understand their options and help build their confidence, self-esteem and the benefits that come from focus and positive approach.

“If it hadn’t of been for an unexpected meeting with one of your colleagues, we wouldn’t have known about Optimum Skills. Initially, it was a placement for someone else, but the fit was not right, then we were asked if we could meet Jess. Initially, she wanted to look at Graphic Design but when we met it was decided that we would take Jess on work experience for 6 weeks to work around different departments of the business and see how we would get on.

As a company, this was something that had not been tried before and we were lucky as Jess was a massive hit. Her willingness and enthusiasm showed through and before long all the departments wanted some of her time. The weeks flew by and we were pleased at the end that we could offer her an Apprenticeship. To me, the work experience was a great way to know that both the person and the company matched. Jess continues to grow in confidence and has become a valued member of our team here at Crafter’s Companion.” – Shana Woolley – Executive Assistant at Crafter’s Companion