March was a successful month at Crosby, with two of our colleagues achieving distinctions in their apprenticeships with Crosby and at Crosby!
Lily O’Brien, our Business & Marketing Apprentice who achieved distinction in her Level 3 Business Administrator Apprenticeship said:
“After starting my Level 3 Business Admin apprenticeship in December 2019 I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive employer or training provider. Coming straight from school and having no clue on what my future career might be Crosby gave me so much exposure in different aspects of the business to help find my passion. I now have the opportunity to help build my experience and knowledge in my newfound passion, the marketing profession.
Throughout school I’ve always had the difficulty of not knowing what I want to do or where I want to be. I now have new ideas and aspirations building every day!
Achieving a distinction and 95% at EPA was beyond my initial expectations and the support and guidance from my manager/trainer, Tom, was a large part in achieving this. I’m more than excited to get onto my next apprenticeship and start building my experience & speciality in marketing.”
Her trainer and manager, Tom Bartlett, said:
“Throughout Lily’s Apprenticeship she has developed her Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours alongside developing in her role with CMT. Lily is now an essential member of the team and the Business Administrator Apprenticeship has been a vital component in her development. The Apprenticeship enabled Lily to develop existing skills as well as acquiring new ones, particularly around managing stakeholders and time management. These new and enhanced skills have enabled Lily to work across all internal departments to support and lead on business-critical projects. The Apprenticeship enabled Lily to gain exposure to all areas of the business and Lily grasped all these opportunities with both hands. I look forward to supporting Lily in her next step, which will also be an Apprenticeship, this time helping Lily build on her skills and passion for marketing through the Marketing Executive Standard.”
Sam Turner, Education and Learning Support Trainer who achieved distinction in her Level 3 L&D Practitioner Apprenticeship said:
“I started my apprenticeship with Crosby Management Training in June 2019. The workshops were mapped out over the course of 18 months and the dates were given to me well in advance so I could adjust my schedule to suit. In between workshops, I was given reading and research to do around learning theories which I feel really helped me understand the psychology behind learning and development.
My tutors Neil and Hazel have been excellent. Their delivery skills are fantastic and all of the learning I did with them was engaging and thought provoking. The learning gave me an opportunity to go back into my workplace and put it into practise. Throughout the apprenticeship there was always support on hand. If I needed help with my off the job hours or understanding the apprenticeship standard, I could always call on Neil or Hazel to lend a supportive ear or give me guidance. This was in addition to my scheduled progress reviews.
I entered gateway in October 2020 and finally took my EPA in March 2021. I’m delighted to say that with the support of Crosby I achieved a distinction.
My apprenticeship has really opened up career pathways for me. I was a functional skills tutor when I started my apprenticeship but with the knowledge and skills I have gained, my employer has now me my own learning programmes to design and deliver.
My apprenticeship has been a hugely positive experience and it has given me a thirst to know more and to be better at my job. My employer invested in me so now I’m striving to deliver the best results I can in return.
Oh and my boss was sometimes a little bit supportive too ????”
Her manager, Craig McNaughton, said:
“Sam joined with a great background in teaching children but limited experience of adult education. By doing the L&D apprenticeship, Sam was able to take her prior knowledge and skills and retune them for a difference audience. The way in which Sam facilitates training is just one example of how this has changed over the course of the apprenticeship. The way in which she creates the visual elements for her sessions, and the incorporation of different technologies, have also been real benefits of the programme. This has meant that Sam has been able to deliver sessions with confidence to colleagues as well as the apprentices she works with. Sam’s understanding of neurodivergence has also evolved massively while on her apprenticeship and this has helped her to adapt to the needs of her apprentices. I know that this is an area of real interest for Sam on the back of the apprenticeship and it’s something she is likely to independently research further.
In addition to Sam developing her skills, she has become more aware of the way in which the business operates. It is very different to a school environment and the apprenticeship was a great way for Sam to explore this, giving her exposure to the commercial elements. I also think that the apprenticeship has helped Sam to become more reflective and aware of the value of feedback. Again, this is conducted differently than in a school setting and Sam has adjusted to this well. This links to Sam’s increasing understanding of both coaching and mentoring which has also been really beneficial for Sam and her engagement with her own apprentices.
All in all, I have really enjoyed being a part of Sam’s development and watching Sam put into practice the knowledge, skills and behaviours that she learned about on the apprenticeship.”
Well done to both Lily and Sam and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for them and their futures at Crosby.