Welcome to our National Apprenticeship Week interview series, where we highlight the inspiring journeys of CXK’s apprentices, who are making significant contributions to our Charity and the communities we work within. In this interview, we sit down with Tiya, a Business Administration Apprentice at CXK’S Youth Employability Service (YES). Tiya shares her inspiring journey of transitioning from a retail role to pursuing her passion for administration through her apprenticeship. Join us as she highlights the exciting aspects, challenges, and the valuable skills she’s gained.
My name is Tiya, I am 21 years old and a Business Administration Apprentice at CXK. I discovered this opportunity on Indeed while researching apprenticeship opportunities, specifically within the administration sector. An admin role appealed to me as I felt all the skills and knowledge I would gain are valuable for any role in the future. This opportunity at CXK stood out to me as I loved the idea of helping people, and working for the Youth Employability Service allows me to do so.
Previously, I was working in retail for 3 years, during and after I had left college. Whilst working there, I was unsure of what career path I wanted to pursue. I enjoyed the organising and daily administration tasks I would do within my part-time job, which sparked my interest in looking for a career in the sector. When researching for jobs in admin, they all required qualifications, which I didn’t, have so the route of an apprenticeship was perfect for me. I am now able to pursue the administration job I wanted while gaining the Level 3 qualification.
I work in the office 4 days a week and have 1 day a week where I study for my apprenticeship. When I am in the office, I have a varied list of roles and responsibilities to complete daily. These involve being the first contact in the office when answering the phone and answering queries outside of the organisation, processing referrals and uploading the data on the database, making various forms of contact as part of the tracking team, producing creative content for social media, designing presentations for advisers to present in schools, producing a weekly jobs and apprenticeships list, a monthly bulletin highlighting upcoming events and opportunities and providing overall support with my team in the office.
Within the first few months, the most exciting aspect of my apprenticeship experience has been taking part in events at schools. I was able to get an insight into the roles of the advisers that I work with and help advertise the service to the young people. A surprising aspect has been the work environment, as I hadn’t worked within an office environment before. However, the environment is very inviting as the team is amazing!
A task that has challenged me and helped me grow is speaking on the phone when tracking or answering calls to the office. When I started my apprenticeship, I was not very confident on the phone and was worried I did not have the knowledge to answer queries. Now, I am confident enough to answer the phone and handle a situation, after practicing and receiving support from my colleagues.
I see this apprenticeship contributing to my professional development and long-term career goals. Although, I am unsure of my plans for after my apprenticeship, all the tasks I do day-to-day contribute to valuable skills and knowledge I will be able to use in any job within business.
The advice I would give to someone considering an apprenticeship in Business Administration is that it will allow you to start your professional career. You will be able to learn the core transferrable skills, and not only gain work experience but also industry knowledge and a qualification which is a bonus!! The main piece of advice would be that if you are not an organised person, you will be after this apprenticeship! 😊
