Apprenticeship benefits and progression support:
I am a Career Grade employee, and I have been doing apprenticeships to help my career progression. I really wanted to develop my knowledge and skills in project management. The highlights were passing my Project Management Qualification (PMQ) and being able to use the learning in my workplace.
Now that I have completed the apprenticeship, I am able to move through the career grades and get more responsibility at work. I have already identified my next apprenticeship: the Level 6 Chartered Surveyor, and the Level 4 Associate Project Manager apprenticeship will compliment this learning.
Apprenticeship tips:
I made sure that I took the allocated time used for the apprenticeship – 6 hours per week. I was strict with myself on with the homework, and set two topics per week when revising for the PMQ. PL Projects had many supporting resources for the revision, and I also used the Association for Project Management (APM) website for further learning. With the portfolio, I wrote a schedule of submissions and stuck with that.
You should be prepared to commit personal time as well as allocated work time at times. This might take some self-determination!
Most valuable skills learned:
The context behind the tools and techniques stand out the most. For example, with schedule and resource management, the teaching was able to help me understand the link between these, and Josie spent time with me on the application of this using Microsoft Project. I now use this regularly in my role.
.Life post apprenticeship:
I have more confidence with my knowledge and this has meant that I can take on more responsibility. I am able to lead meetings about the benefits of the apprenticeship to other staff.
