National Apprenticeships Week 2022 took place from the 7th – 13th February 2022 and considering the benefits WWSET have realised via our apprenticeship offering over recent years, we were only too happy to throw our support behind the campaign.
Apprenticeships are employability programmes that allow individuals to gain industry recognised qualifications at the same time as gaining valuable workplace experience, and are offered at different levels, from Level 2 (GCSE equivalent) all the way up to Level 7 (Master’s Degree equivalent).
This year was the 15th annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships, which sought to bring together businesses and apprentices across the country and to shine a light on the positive impact that apprenticeships make to individuals, businesses and the wider economy.
The theme for National Apprenticeship Week 2022 was ‘Build the Future’, reflecting on how apprenticeships can help individuals to develop the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career, and businesses to develop a talented workforce that is equipped with future-ready skills.
WWSET have been offering apprenticeships since 2019 and in that time, we’ve employed nine individuals across four different apprenticeship routes:
- Level 2 Community Activator Coach
- Level 3 Community Sport & Health Officer
- Level 3 Supporting Physical Education & School Sport
- Level 3 Digital Marketing
Our latest intake of three apprentices – Max Alcock, Shaun O’Hagan and Alfie Walker – began with us in August 2021 and are all completing the Level 2 Community Activator Coach qualification. As with our previous apprentices, they have all settled into the organisation fantastically well and become valued members of the team during their seven months with us.
Last week Max had this to say about his apprenticeship and his time at WWSET thus far:
“The support I get from WWSET really helps me to stay focused and I get lots of fantastic advice for going forward. I would highly recommend apprenticeships for any young person in any role – you get hands on experience, fantastic support and a qualification, which is why my apprenticeship is working out fantastically for me.
Fellow apprentice Jack Fowler, who has almost completed his Level 3 Digital Marketing apprenticeship which he began 15 months ago, added:
“There are so many benefits of working as an apprentice and one of the big ones for me is that you get industry experience of where you want your career path to go. Another benefit is the support you get from the apprentice provider and the team you work with and that’s a crucial part of why I’m here with WWSET.”
Considering it was National Apprenticeship Week, we also decided to catch up with a few of our past apprentices to see how they’re getting on…
Jason Carr joined WWSET in 2019 where he undertook a Level 3 Supporting Physical Education & School Sport apprenticeship. Considering his amazing attitude and performance during his apprenticeship, upon successfully completing it in September 2020, Jason was offered a full time Delivery Officer role in WWSET’s Sports Participation department which he duly accepted and has gone from strength-to-strength since then. Jason had this to say about his apprenticeship:
“My apprenticeship allowed me to develop my knowledge and skills and get a real sense of experience whilst working on the job. The apprenticeship for me worked out really well and I’d definitely recommend an apprenticeship to somebody if they’ve got aspirations to try and improve their skills and get a full-time job in the sports coaching industry.”
Finally, we caught up with Georgia Grou, who completed a Level 3 Community Sport & Health Officer apprenticeship with WWSET in Nov 2020.
Gee – as she’s more commonly known – was another WWSET apprentice who thrived throughout her time with us and quickly became a respected and integral member of our team. Not only that, but Gee was also hugely respected within the local community which resulted in her being named the “Young Charity Woman of the Year” in the Buckinghamshire Women in Charity Awards which took place on International Women’s Day 2021.
The awards were set up to shine a spotlight on and celebrate the amazing achievements of women from across Buckinghamshire working and volunteering in the charity sector, and it was amazing to see Gee recognised for her performance with WWSET.
Upon completing her apprenticeship Gee was offered a full time Delivery Officer role working in our Health department where she continued to develop. In August 2021 Gee decided to move to Bournemouth where she was offered a role as a Health Project Lead at AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust.
Gee had this to say about her apprenticeship experience with WWSET:
“My apprenticeship offered me support, guidance and motivation throughout my journey at WWSET. I feel like I transformed as a professional and even as a person outside of work – my confidence and self-trust grew so much, and I feel like I learned so much that I then had the power to go and achieve at Bournemouth.”
It would be remiss of us to not mention that a large reason for the success our apprentices have achieved is due to our partner organisation – Sports Structures – who deliver the academic side of the apprenticeships. Sports Structures are a national sports consultancy and education organisation who specialise in developing people and organisations in sport so if you’re looking to offer apprentices in the future, we’d recommend you get in touch with them to see how they could help – www.sportstructures.com.
Finally, please keep your eyes on the WWSET website and socials over the coming months as we’ll be looking for a new intake of apprentices for the next academic year and will begin recruiting around May 2022. Alternately, if you have any questions then don’t hesitate to get in touch via email – community@wwfc.com.
