Jemma's story

How did you feel about doing an apprenticeship?

I'm currently doing the level four project manager apprenticeship. My role is learning design manager, so there's a lot of project type tasks that come my way. I wanted to understand more about project management so that I can apply those skills to my role.

I left school nearly 20 years ago, so I think for me going back was a bit scary into that learning environment again, with written assignments and meeting lots of different people and networking, but these are all skills that I can apply to my role.

What have you learned on your apprenticeship that you might not otherwise have done?

Even in a short time, I learned so much about what project management actually is. The difference between projects, programs, portfolios, and being able to know how that would fit into my role.

I think that's the beauty of it. You don't have to be an expert in something before you do it. A lot of the skills you gain can be applied to a lot of different roles. I didn't think that my role as learning design manager would relate to project management, but actually the skills are transferable.

It's definitely skills-based and you gain all the knowledge you need through the apprenticeship. That's the great thing. You don't have to have any prior knowledge. It's learning as you go along.

Tell us about the support you get from Lifeways and your fellow apprentices

I've got a really supportive manager who’s happy to help me with anything I need.

So it could be that I'm doing a course through the apprenticeship, a piece of e-learning or a reflection piece and am unsure about a question. I can reach out to my manager and say, “Can you just read over this for me?” or “Can you think of a situation where I might have applied this?”.

That support from my manager is really invaluable.

I think that across Lifeways they give you that space and that encouragement to learn more. And I think that's the best thing about Lifeways.

What makes an apprenticeship in the care sector unique?

I think the main thing is the focus on people. Lifeways is very people focused. I haven't come from a care background, and what stood out to me is how focused we are on not only developing the people who work for Lifeways, but also the people we support. It works both ways. 

That's the great thing about working here. While working as an apprentice, you're building your skills and developing within your role, which ultimately is going to help improve the support you can offer others.

In Learning and Development, we're really lucky because we get to support the whole business. A lot of people might be surprised by the range of learning and training we offer and we're always looking to source new learning if it's required. We're very supportive in sourcing training to meet the needs of the business.

Jemma shares which aspects of her job give the most satisfaction