Case Study

It’s been over 20 years since I graduated. I studied English and Linguistics at University, so I've had experience in an educational setting. However, I was worried I'd find returning to study hard. I was pleasantly surprised with the support I received after the initial uncertainty, and I’m pleased I had the courage to sign up for the Team Leader/Supervisor Apprenticeship.

When I left university I worked part-time at AccuRead (now known as Morrisons Data Services) while I searched for my dream job. However, a full-time role became available so I thought I would take the position for a few months until I figured out what I wanted to do.  That was over 20 years ago and I'm still working there now!

I'm now an Insights Manager within our Operations Centre. I manage a small team of analysts who use the data from the site visit information in the system to produce performance reports, forecasting, trend analysis, and data to support contract renewal information. We use the information that we’ve gained from visits to millions of properties over the years to help shape the decisions about how we intend to approach future activities and new business.

Ironically, as a course module topic, one of the greatest challenges I faced during the apprenticeship was time management. Managing full-time work and my studies has been a struggle at times. I’ve had to be very strict with myself and ensure I make time for studying. As busier periods at work approached and the novelty of studying wore off, I fell behind during the middle of the course. I ended up on a downward spiral, panicking because I was behind on my assignments but not doing anything about it.

The support from my tutor helped me navigate this stressful time. They helped me prioritise my tasks and break them into smaller, more manageable chunks. I got myself back on track and recognised some weeks would be busier than others, but I had to ensure I was making time for the apprenticeship.

Another challenge I faced was confidence. When I started the apprenticeship, I'd only been a manager for a year and other people on the course had significantly more experience than me. I was worried about the knowledge gap, but the way the course was set up, experience didn’t matter. I didn’t feel out of place voicing my thoughts and ideas. The apprenticeship has had a positive effect on both me and the organisation. I wouldn’t have gone for the current role I'm in if I hadn’t gained the confidence and skills that I did during my studies.

It’s also given me the opportunity to work with the commercial teams and I’ve learned about the contracts we have with our customers. As a result, we realised lots of clauses hadn’t been invoked correctly which we were then able to complete and back bill for quite substantial amounts of money. I really enjoyed meeting and working with people from other businesses in different fields to me to share our knowledge and expertise."

Published 25 November 2024