About your Apprenticeship:
When I left school, I knew I wanted to go straight into employment as practical work rather than purely academic work really appealed to me. I started on a traineeship in Business Administration first and then moved onto an apprenticeship on the same topic. Learning while earning was really important to me and doing my apprenticeship has given me so many opportunities.
I chose to do Business Administration as I know that every business needs this role and the associated skills, so I thought it would be a good kickstart to my career and provide me with general skills that I could use for future progression, particularly if I was to reach my goal of a career in HR. As these skills are always in demand, I also hoped that it would improve my general employability.
My first role during my apprenticeship programme was doing general administration at an accountancy firm and I then transferred my programme over to my current employer, where I’m now an HR Administrator as part of the Shared Services function in the People Team. In my role I mainly carry out the following tasks; booking travel and accommodation for staff across the whole business, creating offer letters and contracts of employment for new starters and also requesting, compiling and checking all relevant paperwork, salary and role change letters and administration, bonus administration, monitoring of the HR inbox and dealing with general HR queries both via email and on the phone. As a team, we aim to deal with all queries and bookings as soon as possible and I am personally responsible for all travel and accommodation bookings. I prioritise these requests over all other queries and keep a spreadsheet to track progress and to allow my colleagues to support staff if I’m not at work.
Your personal achievements:
I have progressed from doing general administration for a small company to key HR administration for a fast growing, healthcare business. It’s always been my dream to work in HR and I have now already achieved this.
I have gained a vast amount of experience in lots of different areas in a relatively short time period, so I feel this makes me stand out from some of my peers and has greatly improved my employability.
My general confidence has improved so much through completing an apprenticeship as I have learnt key theory whilst also being able to put this into practice. I have developed so many key skills throughout the programme, including; using MS Office and Outlook, reviewing databases, recording information, producing accurate documents (such as letters, emails and contracts), accuracy and quality of work. Some of the most important skills I have developed are interpersonal skills and communication skills. I have built relationships with people in my team and trained new starters. I can now demonstrate effective communication skills, face to face, on the phone and in written communications.
I have gained an award in Employability skills and an NVQ in Business Administration.
I feel that I am right at the start of a long career in HR and I have worked hard to build a solid foundation.
I recently received feedback from our Leadership & Talent Training Manager:
“Ellie has really flourished since starting with the business. She demonstrates and role models excellent behaviours of professionalism, responsibility, and adaptability. Her communication skills have greatly improved, and she can be relied upon to be flexible and complete all tasks required. She is now a key member of the team.”
Impact on your organisation:
I have contributed to the success of SpaMedica by ensuring that all my work is completed effectively and efficiently. We have opened lots of new hospitals since I started and I have been key in creating and sending offer letters and contracts of employment, and compiling and checking all new starter paperwork. It is essential that this information is accurate, not just for our business but also for our regulatory body, the CQC.
We have recently undertaken a project to communicate pay increases and bonus payments to every single member of staff across the business. This involved working with a mail merge and ensuring accurate information was being sent out to the right people.
I am the key contact for all travel and accommodation bookings across the business, so I facilitate our people being in the right place at the right time. This is a key benefit to the organisation as our people are our most important asset. I also ensure that all these bookings are done in the most cost-effective manner. I am always on hand to amend bookings at short notice to ensure smooth journeys and to avoid any unnecessary costs.
