Apprenticeship Advisor Review

My role is to manage half of the Co-op's Apprenticeship programmes. This involves liaising with our learning providers to ensure the programmes are the best they can be for our colleagues, making sure line managers are aware of how to support their colleagues and checking in with Apprentices to make sure they are doing what they need to do to succeed.

I have completed the CIPD qualification part of the Apprenticeship. This helped me to gain a better understanding of HR outside the team I work in. I have been able to use this learning and the 20% OTJ time to help me handle stretch activities and new accountabilities that I've gained in my role over the last 12m

I enjoy the programme very much. I find the subject really interesting, but my knowledge has grown. Having the 20% time to think about the subject - not just doing the work - benefits me as a reflector. As part of the Apprenticeship I receive related magazine in the post which helps me to connect the theory to the real-life situations.

It is well structured, but I think more flexibility in the assignment deadlines would make managing the workload a lot easier. Currently a module starts the day after the last assignment is handed in, which means the academic side is constant which makes managing annual leave tricky. Although annual leave isn't included in working out the 20%, I felt at times like I needed to catch up on my return to work. Additionally, the CIPD side of the programme takes up much of the 20% which doesn't allow lots of extra time for the portfolio side.

Lots of support - I've had three managers since starting the programme and all three have been supportive of my development and participation in the programme. My managers have all stressed to me the importance of taking the time for my learning and to protect it, even when the day job gets busy.

My personal tutor is really nice and has experience working in my industry, which means she understands what I'm talking about when I reference my work. I haven't had to move meeting often, but she has been understanding when I have had a reason to. We plan the meetings in well in advance, which helps me to manage my diary better.

As someone fairly new to HR, the qualification is helping me to become a credible leader, as well as helping me to grow my knowledge in areas of HR which i don't work in. It is building my confidence to have this knowledge and qualification behind me. I'm about to start my EPA project soon and it's a piece of work I know will bring a real benefit to the Co-op. Completing this for my EPA will support me to give it time and the thought needed to make it a success

We love to showcase the Co-op Apprenticeship programmes so we've recently been hosting lots of sessions showcasing the different programmes, encouraging colleagues from across the business to get involved and to share their experiences. We have five colleague networks which run lots of sessions for colleagues, we recently ran a session on Apprenticeships for our women's network.

Yes

The Co-op is a great place of work. One of our values is to 'be yourself, always' and we encourage everyone to bring their full selves to work. We support this by having five colleague networks which support their members with events, education and creating a community. Our mission is to 'co-operate for a fairer world' recognising the impact the business can have on our colleagues, our communities and the world.

We take our values and mission seriously, so have a read of these before applying to make sure they align with your own values. They'll also help you when it comes to the interview also! There's lots of things to get involved in here. I mention the networks, but I think they're a great way of getting involved in things outside of your day job, which I think is really good at helping you to grow your personal network. People are really important here, and you'll find everyone wants to help.