Stacey – Business Administration
Knowing what career path you want to follow is not easy at the best of times. Sometimes life just gets in the way and sometimes it takes a while to figure out what route is best for you.
With an apprenticeship, anyone over the age of 16 can gain a nationally recognised qualification, at any point in your life. Through an apprenticeship, you earn while you learn. This means that you combine a job with your education and develop industry-specific skills that are designed to help you with your dream career.
Level 3 Business Administration apprentice, Stacey McCallum, has seen first-hand how effective an apprenticeship can be to get back into the workplace. After spending the last few years working as a full-time mum, Stacey decided that she wanted to pursue her ambition of working in business.
Stacey currently works as a Business Support Apprentice for North Notts College’s parent organisation RNN Group. In her role, she prepares, organises, and oversees administrative documents related to both students and employers. This ensures that contracts get signed, attending and organising meetings as well as liaising with various stakeholders to make sure deadlines are met.
Speaking about her apprenticeship, Stacey underlined how great it was to combine work with education.
She said: “I chose to study for an apprenticeship, because it allowed me to start working in the field that interested me, whilst still working towards my education… all whilst getting paid!
“It’s not always easy balancing work and education, but I get time off in the week to work on my assignments and the experience I gain whilst working can help me put the material we learn at College into practice.”
Stacey’s apprenticeship, Level 3 Business Administration, is preparing her for a career in Business, where she learns key skills in project management, IT, Planning, Organisation, Supply Chain Management, Business Structure and much more.
Stacey spoke of how her apprenticeship had helped her.
She commented: “I definitely feel that the apprenticeship is preparing me for my future career. I’ve become very confident and comfortable in my role.
“The support I’ve received from people in the team has been brilliant and they’ve prepared me to work fulltime in the workplace.”
Whilst completing her apprenticeship, Stacey is based at North Notts College, where she works with the apprenticeship team. Whilst speaking about her everyday life whilst working at the College, Stacey broke into a big smile.
She said: “I’ve wanted to work at the College for a number of years now. It’s such a friendly environment to work in. If I’m ever having a rubbish day, then it always cheers me up coming into College and speaking with all my colleagues.
“I really enjoy working in the educational sector. The College is such a friendly place to work and the work-life balance is brilliant – it’s a really nice work environment.”
Stacey finished by speaking about what the future looks like for her, after completing her apprenticeship.
She said: “My goal is to work in a business support role, preferably here at the College.
“I really enjoy my work and within my role and within the business, there is the chance to progress, so I’m just looking forward to finishing my apprenticeship and seeing where the business road takes me.”
Speaking about what advice she would give to anyone considering doing an Apprenticeship in Business, she concluded: “I would recommend an apprenticeship to anyone, even if you’ve had a break from work for a while.
“It’s a brilliant way to get into work, gain experience, meet new people and start climbing that career ladder.”