Lauren – Business Administrator Level 3 Apprenticeship – Optimum Skills

After leaving university, Lauren Armstrong wasn’t sure of her next step, so she asked a friend for advice.

“I graduated in 2023 with a degree in Media and Communications, but I didn’t know if the media was something I really wanted to get into,” said the 23-year-old from Newton Aycliffe.

“My friend told me about Optimum Skills, so I enquired about its Skills Bootcamp in Digital Marketing as I hoped it would give my career a kick-start. After completing that, I was certain I wanted to do an apprenticeship.”

Lauren is far from alone: statistics show a growing number of university graduates are seeking out apprenticeships to help them gain a foothold in the job market.

A recent Social Market Foundation (SMF) report found around 56,000 apprentices already held at least a bachelor’s degree beforehand – that’s one in every six apprenticeships started in the UK each year.

Lauren has two goals in mind: to boost her knowledge, and to gain crucial work experience which could start her on her career path.

She added: “I studied my degree because I was interested in the subject, but I didn’t have a career path in mind. I also realised that I didn’t have enough work experience: the bootcamp helped me secure some valuable experience with the charity Givey – a digital community for small charities and local communities around the UK – where I wrote blogs and other content, as well as generally gained self-confidence.”

Following the bootcamp, Optimum Skills put Lauren forward for an apprenticeship at Cogent Skills in 2024.

Located nearby Optimum Skills’ Newton Aycliffe office, Cogent Skills is an employer-led skills charity which supports science-based employers across a range of industries – and was named one of the UK’s Best Places to Work by The Sunday Times for the last two years.

Cogent was looking for a dedicated course administrator who could work alongside their existing team providing specialist safety training to high-hazard industries across the UK and around the world.

Lauren worked hard to learn and develop in her varied role as course administrator, balancing both on-the-job and off-the-job learning.

At least 20 per cent of an apprenticeship is spent training, and her tutor said, “It was a pleasure to work with Lauren and support her through her apprenticeship. Lauren was a very focused and detail orientated apprentice who always provided excellent, high quality work. Consistently, Lauren came to her sessions with a polite, well mannered can do attitude and it was always fun to work with her on the BA topics. Lauren was able to show me how she was using her new knowledge in the work place and how this really made her want to learn more. Overall, Lauren developed both personally and professionally whilst she was on the apprenticeship, and in both respects this will really help her with her future endeavours.”

Away from the office, colleagues noticed how the apprenticeship has helped Lauren’s personal growth, giving her a more “positive outlook”.

During her apprenticeship, Lauren has become an accomplished Administrator. She has learned everything from coordinating courses to working on the LMS platform and producing monthly achievement reports.

“There is always uncertainty when you take on someone new. However, Lauren’s dedication and can-do attitude has helped her to fit right in and she has become a great asset to the team. The support from Optimum Skills has been brilliant: they have supported her as an individual helping her to develop her skills in the right areas and they have had regular reviews with her throughout her apprenticeship.”

“Lauren’s brought a fresh perspective to the team and she’s extremely reliable and hard working” added Beverley Wade, Lauren’s line manager.

“Apprenticeships are big part of our business and we see the benefits directly, such as improving retention rates and increased loyalty.

“Lauren’s achieved everything in her apprenticeship and we are delighted to be able to make her role with us permanent – there was always a potential job at the end of the apprenticeship for her and she worked hard to make it hers.

“I’ve been with the business for six years and Lauren is the first apprentice we’ve been able to take on in this part of the business. However, we know apprentices are an integral part of developing talent going forward so I’d wholeheartedly recommend apprenticeships to anyone.”