Right from the word go I knew I had made the right decision. This was so important to me because I had taken a bit of a risk in leaving my previous job. I was taken on as a carer at the dementia home, which for some people could have been too difficult to take on board purely because of the nature of work. There were times when I was challenged and occasionally felt like I could have fallen behind with my studies but so long as you are disciplined enough to want to get the work done then it’s fine. After only a few weeks I was given more responsibility when I undertook the role of an activity coordinator. I dived straight into a project and arranged a trip to the Isle of Wight! This involved arranging the transport and compiling the risk assessments and organising what we were going to do whilst on the Island. This helped to develop me as an individual because I felt really appreciated and really good when families came up to me afterwards and thanked me for all my hard work and the lovely day! It completely demolished the stereotype that all Apprentices do at work is make the tea! 

I was honoured that after a couple of months of being an apprentice I was selected as one of the few Apprentices in the country to be part of the ‘Young Apprentice Ambassador Network’. We were deemed to be a selection of the most successful Apprentices and were required to help the development of Apprenticeships and try and raise awareness amongst the business community. I was soon asked to attend a number of different events to do with Apprenticeships and deliver a short speech on my experience and answer any questions people may have had around the subject. It came as a shock to me how much I enjoyed doing this! I always used to blend in with the crowd and was quite happy to listen to other people talk but now it was me up there…all eyes were on me…and I loved it! The buzz I got for public speaking was great! 

I thoroughly enjoyed my Apprenticeship and all the people involved were really helpful and supportive. My assessor visited me regularly and was always at the end of the phone if I needed her. I was looked after really well, which I think was important because I could talk to her about my qualifications and any problems or issues I had. 

I have now successfully completed my Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care and have managed to secure a job with Hampshire County Council’s Children’s Services as a Children’s and Family’s support worker. This is absolutely ideal, seeing as this is the exact area of employment I want and need to be able to progress onto the next step in my career. I am now able to go on to work on my degree and gain the best experience possible. 

I can safely say that none of this would have been possible without completing the Apprenticeship first. It not only gave me the experience I needed to be able to meet the criteria of the job, but also made me feel confident enough to do it! I have met some great people during my time at Malmesbury Lawn and really hope to stay in touch with some of them. 

I have had a very positive experience and I would certainly recommend an Apprenticeship to anyone who wants to develop their career!” 

Mr. Baines was very impressed at how quickly 17 year-old Georgina Lofthing joined the Liquid Friday team as a Level 2 Business Administration Apprentice and settled in. 

Georgina has been taken on by the company as an Expenses Administrator, dealing with client registrations and payroll. Mr. Baines says that the right training has played a big part in helping her to progress. The balance of theory and practical work and the opportunity to complete work online caters for the needs of the business. 

He says that the Georgina “Rose to the challenge” by getting involved from day one and has taken on more responsibility in her work. She is now hoping to go on to do a Level 3 qualification in either Business Administration or Accounts. 

Georgina’s that she has really benefitted from work-based learning. Georgina explained: 

“My apprenticeship is all about practical learning. I’ve learnt more in the past two months than I did in two years at college.” 

Georgina and Liquid Friday receive ongoing support from their Fareport Assessor and they are working together to take her Apprenticeship forward. 

Upon joining the training room Angie’s timekeeping and attendance was poor for the first few months and this affected her completing targets on time. Angie’s assessors at Fareport worked with Angie to try and improve her commitment and motivation. Angie built a rapport with staff and gradually her attendance improved and as a result she started to meet qualification targets. Angie agreed with her assessor; Evelyn, that she should improve her literacy and numeracy qualifications and Angie started to work towards Key Skill qualifications in these.  

She introduced me to the training provider Fareport, and suggested I contacted them to see what other apprenticeship opportunities were available in the area. As well as gaining work experience within the care sector I had also had some experience working in a charity shop, so had an idea that I wanted to do something around customer service. I sent my CV to Fareport, and was immediately invited for an interview for the Business Administrators Assistant’s post within Fareport. I was good at ICT at school and college, and I can type fast so when I was offered the position my friends encouraged me to go for it – so I did!”  

“This apprenticeship has given me the opportunity to progress. I am disappointed that I couldn’t train in elderly care, but instead of doing nothing I decided to do this apprenticeship so that I am still learning. After my apprenticeship I might return to a career in care – but if I don’t then I will still have my business admin qualification. I would encourage anyone who is considering an apprenticeship to go on a work placement first – this will help you decide if you like the area of work before committing to full time training.”  

Zoe returned to Fareport Training after officially leaving school to join our Entry to Employment (E2E) programme as she recognised that the flexible approach we could offer suited her learning style. Zoe was also keen to do some work experience as she had not had a job before.  

Zoe has worked hard with her assessor; Evelyn Young to complete more qualifications since re-joining us.  

Evelyn and Zoe, along with Rachel Lawrence, Fareport Training’s Work Placement Co ordinator discussed work placement opportunities, reflecting upon Zoe’s strengths and current abilities. Rachel then approached Pampurred Pets in Gosport enquiring as to whether they would be able to offer any work experience. On the 4th March 2008 Zoe started a work taster with Pampurred Pets, working with them two days each week and remaining in Fareport Training for the other two days continuing to work towards qualifications.  

Throughout her time at Pampurred Pets Rachel has been to visit Zoe once every two weeks, conducting a review with both Zoe and her employer, ensuring that all parties are happy and addressing any issues which arose.  

Zoe now attends 4 days a week on placement with Pampurred Pets, and is employed for one day a week.  

Zoe had the following to say about her time with Fareport Training and Pampurred Pets;  

“Since I started at Pampurred Pets I have completely changed my attitude towards everything. I am not shy anymore and I am confident in talking to people I don’t know. Carly and Gareth have supported me through the 6 months I have been there and helped me a lot when I have had personal difficulties.  

Rachel and Evelyn have come to visit me in work time and their own time to see if I am ok. They have supported me to work towards my Customer Service NVQ Level 1. I have also completed a Pampurred Pets introduction work book which includes health and safety and products sold in store.  

Rachel has supported me in completing an application form for a part time job at Pampurred Pets and I am now employed.  

I feel more focused in my career path and understand more about commitment and respect.”  

Will has Aspergers Syndrome which is within the Autism Spectrum disorder distinguished by a pattern of symptoms rather than just one. Aspergers characteristics can include difficulty with social interaction skills, some physical clumsiness and a fascination in specific subjects. Will comments that he finds it hard to remember sometimes, especially when he is given instructions or too much information at once.  

Will enjoys his job at Morrisons a great deal but through talking to his family and particularly his mother, decided that he would like to work towards a qualification within the workplace. As Will has been successfully employed for so many years he wanted to prove to himself and his employers all of the skills and knowledge he has gained. Mrs Garrett, Will’s mother came across an advertisement for Fareport Training in her local newspaper and upon seeing that we offer qualifications in Customer Service she contacted us directly to find out more.  

Mrs Garrett and Will decided that completing an NVQ would suit Will as he would be able to prove his work-place competency and could agree personalised and individual targets with his assessor; Shirley Cherry. Shirley worked closely with both Mrs Garrett and Will to discuss the NVQ level 2 in Customer Service that Will would work towards, explaining the benefits to Will. When setting Will targets Shirley agreed that she would do this both verbally and in written form, using bullet points as Will finds these easier to understand.  

Upon speaking to Will about his qualification and work he made the following comments;  

“Having an NVQ is an extra qualification and it will show that I can talk to customers and help them when they need it. I have got some GCSE’s already but this is more about doing my job. Having a qualification like this will help me to get a better job at Morrisons in the future as well.  

Before I started working at Morrisons I had a few other jobs as a surveyor’s assistant, voluntary work at Queen Elizabeth Country Park and I went to college as well. I really like working at Morrisons because I enjoy helping elderly and disabled people around the store. A lot of customers ask for me by name when they come in to do their shopping and this makes me feel good.”  

Shirley, Will’s assessor from Fareport Training has been impressed and proud of Will’s progress towards his qualification so far commenting;  

“Will has shown that he has excellent Customer Service skills which exist within him naturally. Whenever I visit Will in the workplace it is evident that the customers and staff alike respect him and enjoy his company.”  

Will has been given additional hours and responsibilities within the store as his confidence grows.Keep checking this page to see how Will progresses with his NVQ.