How my apprenticeship made me a better manager - Meet George

As well as recruiting apprentices to bring in fresh ideas, we also use apprenticeships to develop our current workforce. George is a Talent Acquisition Partner who has been working at Harris for almost 4 years. In his first role with us as an Office Manager, he completed the Harris Diploma Team Leader qualification as an apprenticeship. 

We caught up with George to learn about his experience as an apprentice, how he balanced work and study, and how his apprenticeship has contributed to his personal and professional development. 

What motivated you to do an apprenticeship?

I was managing a team at the time and wanted to develop my leadership skills. Harris gave me the opportunity to do an apprenticeship and it seemed like a good opportunity to learn the skills I needed, whilst staying in full-time employment. 

 

How would you describe the experience?

The apprenticeship experience was really useful. It was very easy to apply the modules to my day-to-day work and how I was managing people. It was 12 months in total, the first 6 months was focused on completing the majority of the coursework, with the second half spent preparing for the presentations. 

One of the most valuable things I took away was the understanding of different management styles and how to adapt my management style to individuals in my team. The apprenticeship also helped me to find an effective way to delegate work and manage the workload of individuals, and I learnt some different coaching methods which proved useful too. 

 

What impact has the apprenticeship had on your career?

It made my experience of managing my team a lot more pleasurable; it became easier for me to manage individuals, as well as manage the efficiency and output of the team, and how we developed working together. 

In my role as Talent Acquisition Partner, it’s given me the skills to help me work with newer members in in the team that I’m working closely with. It's also reassuring to have the knowledge and the skills to progress into further management roles. With the growth of the Federation, I’m hoping my career will naturally progress and I’ll eventually take on managing a team of recruiters. 

 

Were there any challenges? 

The most challenging part was the reflections. Having been out of education for a while, taking the time out of the day to day to step back and reflect on what was happening so I could apply it to my studies was quite hard initially. But this was a process I familiarised myself with as the apprenticeship progressed, and became very useful. 

 

What were the highlights?

One of my favourite parts was meeting the other apprentices on the course. Most of the cohort were academy based whereas my role was more office based so it was great to share experiences with each other, and how our learnings were different. But overall, I really enjoyed the experience of developing my knowledge and seeing that progression, not just in myself but also in my team that were developing as individuals through the skills I was learning. 

 

What support did you get?

There was a lot of support throughout the apprenticeship because it was easy to contact other people in my cohort as well as those running the course. I had a dedicated coach throughout the programme which helped me to reflect on how I was feeling and developing. From an employer perspective, my management team were very supportive and gave me the time I needed to study. 

 

What advice would you give someone considering an apprenticeship at Harris?

I would say to make sure to take a step back and record the experiences that you’re having. Whilst completing the apprenticeship, if you recognise a situation that has happened that can be applied to something you’ve learnt, take a step back to reflect and record it so you can learn from the experience.