Apprenticeship stories: Karis
Karis joined us in 2019 and is now a permanent member of staff in our Housing team.
Find out about Karis' experience as an apprentice below.
What apprenticeship did you complete/are you completing?
I joined the Council as a Business Administration Level 2 apprenticeship in 2019 and stayed on the programme until 2020 when I secured a full time job in the Council's housing team.
Why did you apply for it?
I applied for the apprenticeship as I saw it as a great opportunity to develop my skills and gain some real work experience.
I left school and did a year of college, but felt it wasn't enough for me. I wanted to get into work and knew this would be difficult without work experience. I spotted the apprenticeship scheme with the Council and thought it would be a good way to gain some valuable work experience and qualifications, as well as being able to work in my local community.
What did/do you enjoy most about your apprenticeship?
The thing I enjoyed most about the apprenticeship at Maldon District Council was the diversity of what I learned, for example I got to gain a lot of experience across the Council's cemeteries, housing and benefits teams, as well as learning about IT and the systems used to help the Council support local residents.
Also, as an apprentice, you get to deal with a range of different support duties to help the different teams in the Council get on with their day to day work, this opened me up to several possible career paths towards to the later stages of my apprenticeship.
There was never a moment where there wasn’t something to learn or do, and the team leaders ensured that we had the support to gain as much work experience as we could alongside our qualification.
What element of the Apprenticeship did/do you find most beneficial for your career development/advancement?
I found that the apprenticeship scheme gave me lots of opportunities to develop my career as it provided me with a safe learning environment, where I was supported to learn new skills and identify areas where I could gain more experience.
The apprenticeships at the Council also gave me a good introduction into the varied and important work of local government and how the Council supports the community.
Do you think the Apprenticeship program directly impacted on your career opportunities?
Eg: would you be where you are now if you hadn’t completed an Apprenticeship?
The apprenticeship scheme had a massive impact on my career opportunities, if I hadn't applied then I wouldn’t have gained the work experience to progress into my job now.
What one piece of advice would you give to an apprentice on programme now?
Get involved with the role as much as you can and don't be afraid to ask questions to develop your knowledge further.
It’s such a good way to start your career and it's also really good fun to be able to work in such a great team.