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For Olivia Davies, an apprenticeship was always going to be her preferred route into the world of work.
After finishing her GCSEs at Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy, Olivia knew that staying on at school wasn’t for her. Instead, she wanted to start building her career through practical experience — and she followed a path that had already worked for someone very close to home.
Olivia’s mum, Julia, completed a Business Administration apprenticeship with Access Training around 30 years earlier, before going on to build a career in recruitment. She encouraged Olivia to consider the same route.
It turned out to be a good recommendation.
At 16, Olivia was initially interviewed by Access Training for a Business Administration apprenticeship with one of its employer partners. However, during the recruitment process, the team recognised that Olivia could be a great fit for Access itself and offered her an apprenticeship within the Business Development and Marketing team.
Her role gave her the opportunity to develop her own skills while also supporting other young people looking for their first step into the workplace.Olivia’s responsibilities included screening applications, matching candidates with suitable vacancies and arranging interviews with employers.
For someone who had recently been in the same position herself, being able to communicate with other apprenticeship candidates was a natural fit.“A key responsibility I have is communicating with candidates, which I love because I consider myself a people person, but also because I’ve been in their shoes.”
Alongside her workplace responsibilities, Olivia worked towards her Level 3 Business Administrator Apprenticeship. Rather than simply learning about administration in a classroom, Olivia was able to put her learning into practice every day. From using new software and applications to communicating with learners and employers, her role gave her the opportunity to build a broad range of workplace skills from the beginning of her career.
“I’ve learnt so much already, using new software and applications, and I’m acquiring new skills every single day.”
While Olivia followed a route first taken by her mum, her apprenticeship has been about building her own career and gaining the experience she wanted from the start. She was clear that she wanted to move straight into employment after her GCSEs and develop through practical experience.
“I always wanted to go straight into the world of work. Staying on at school didn’t interest me.”
Her apprenticeship has given her the opportunity to do exactly that — gaining a recognised qualification while developing skills, experience and confidence in a real working environment. And there is something particularly fitting about Olivia now helping other young people take their own first steps into apprenticeships, just as she did herself.
An apprenticeship can give you the chance to gain a qualification while developing practical skills and experience in the workplace.
Explore Access Training’s apprenticeship opportunities and find out where your journey could take you.
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.