Tell us about your background
I’ve worked in and around apprentices for over 20 years, with many years in employer and learner engagement, careers advice and guidance and until joining SETA this year, I taught level 3 business and project management apprenticeship standards. I have lots of experience working with employers, schools and other external agencies promoting the many benefits of apprenticeships!
What attracted you to work for SETA
Seta are established and experts in their field. We are a small training provider, but we understand our sector and know exactly who we are, so we specialise in engineering and we deliver quality and bespoke training consistently and year after year, and we get excellent results.
I knew that joining such a reputable organisation, I would be able to work with high quality employers and applicants and continue to raise the profile and the existing high standards.
What do you most enjoy about your role
I love the diversity of the day to day – I could be interviewing, judging a STEM competition or delivering an assembly, or I could be in strategy meetings discussing budgets!
Why are you passionate about apprenticeships
I feel if there is a relevant apprenticeship pathway to qualify in your area of interest, why would you chose to do it any other way? Apprentices – given the right employer and training provider – will learn from the bottom up, in a working organisation, contributing from day one. They get paid to learn and develop their skills. They can progress to higher and degree apprenticeships and carve a career for life if they choose.
What do you look for in the ‘ideal’ apprentice
A positive attitude, someone isn’t opposed to hard work and knows what they want. Confident, but not overly so. They must have good preparation for their interview, have good knowledge on their chosen sector and ask questions. If applicants have additional extras such as relevant hobbies, work experience, team activities such as sports etc, this is always impressive.
Why would a business come to SETA to train its apprentices
We are experts in our field, many of our staff are ex-SETA apprentices and understand the journey and the sector. Our foundation training block is bespoke to the standard and employer requirements. We offer additional specialist modules and our foundation training equips apprentices in workplace behaviours and skills
How exciting is it for you to play such a key role in creating future workforces
Extremely so, I am a huge fan of apprenticeships and I know they are on par, if not more meaningful, than the traditional academic route.
I have already met many ex-SETA apprentices, many of whom are engineering managers, directors and CEOs, so I am confident our apprentices leave us and continue on a progressive and exciting career path, with skills and experience embedded through their time here.
