Apprenticeship takes Eva from administrator to strategic HR advisor.
Eva began her career at Access Training as a Business Administration apprentice, supporting learners in their first steps toward employment.
Today, she’s progressing into an HR Administrator role supporting the function of our employee lifecycle — a testament to how apprenticeships can open doors to multiple career paths.
Eva’s early days
Eva began her role as an Administration Assistant at just 18 years old after completing her A-Level studies. After searching for apprenticeship opportunities, Eva landed her role within our Business Development Team supporting the Recruitment and Onboarding of our Learners. Since starting her role, she has always found helping the learners the most rewarding. Often at this stage our applicants are applying for their first roles or first time or long-term careers and are seeking support. More recently, Eva experienced the full impact of this work first-hand when she supported a candidate throughout the entire recruitment process — from initial application through to interview and eventually receiving a job offer — a milestone moment in seeing the journey come full circle.
Eva said: “Seeing someone go through the whole journey from start to finish, when that’s them first applying for the apprenticeship and then obviously when they get job offered, I always find that extremely rewarding.”
An opportunity to progress
Following the acquisition of Access Training by the University of Sunderland, Access continued to prepare for wider organisational developments including the plans to assume responsibility for MTC training in April 2025. This created a natural opportunity for additional required support within the current HR function at Access Training. Following ongoing conversations about Eva’s long-term development and highlighting her interest in people-focused work, the timing felt right to formally offer Eva the opportunity to join the HR department. Eva started taking on responsibilities to support Rema, Office Manager and lead for HR, allowing her to gain hands-on experience while contributing to the evolving needs of the organisation.
Rema, Office Manager at Access Training, explains: “Eva’s progression from her Business Administration apprenticeship into the HR team has been a really natural step for both her and the business. As we’ve continued to grow, the need for additional HR support has increased, and throughout her apprenticeship Eva consistently showed a genuine interest in people-focused work.
Her time supporting learner recruitment gave her valuable insight into working with people and HR-related processes, which sparked her interest in developing further within HR.
Since joining the HR team, Eva has brought a strong level of organisation, enthusiasm and care to the role. She has quickly become a reliable point of support for both the team and our wider staff, applying the skills she developed through her Business Administration apprenticeship while continuing to grow her HR knowledge.”
How Business Administration Apprenticeships Open Career Pathways
Eva’s progression also highlights wider opportunities that the Business Administration Apprenticeship route can offer. The programme includes communication, organisation, problem-solving and people skills which are developed throughout the programme. This meaning, although learners may begin in administrative or operational roles, the apprenticeship provides a strong foundation for a range of career pathways.
At Access Training, we’ve seen many learners build on these foundations to progress into more specialised roles. In some cases, like Harriet’s journey from apprentice to trainer, a Business Admin apprenticeship can be the starting point for significant career development within an organisation.
Eva’s story also demonstrates how this pathway can naturally lead into HR, particularly for those who already support people, processes and teams as part of their role.
One of the most common misconceptions about the Level 3 HR Support Apprenticeship is that learners must already hold an HR job title to enrol. In reality, the programme is designed for individuals who support people within a business — whether that’s office managers, administrators, team leaders or those beginning to take on HR responsibilities.
For employers, this creates a valuable opportunity to develop talent internally, strengthening HR capability while planning for future succession. By investing in apprenticeships, organisations can build knowledgeable, confident professionals who understand their business from the inside out — helping to future-proof their workforce and elevate their HR function over time.
Rema has also experienced the apprenticeship pathway herself, progressing through HR qualifications from Level 3 to Level 5 and now Level 7. Her experience highlights how apprenticeships combine practical experience with structured learning, helping individuals develop into confident professionals while enabling businesses to grow their own talent.
Investing in apprenticeships to support your business
By investing in apprenticeships, businesses can grow skilled, confident professionals who understand their roles, support colleagues, and contribute to wider organisational goals.
Whether beginning with a Business Administration apprenticeship or progressing into specialist areas such as HR, apprenticeships provide a practical way to develop talent from within while supporting long-term succession planning.
Explore our Business Administrator and HR programmes to see how apprenticeships can support your organisation.
______________________________________________________________________________________
More than just a training provider…
Gateshead-based Access Training provides upskilling courses and apprenticeships in HR, project management, team leading and management, accountancy, business administration, learning & skills teaching, and fire, emergency & security systems.
We have been delivering training programmes for businesses and individuals across the North East for over 40 years. We have a genuine interest in the success of the companies we work with and the people we train, and we aim to provide a personal, bespoke service.