Meet the Team
Sam Heaton - Employability Programme Co-Ordinator
I left school
with only 2 GCSE’s and went on to college to do retakes. After leaving college
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew I wanted to work in
social care. I started working in a care home and I’d been volunteering with
the Participation Team for 5 years. The Participation Team is a youth team
in Children’s Services located in Devon County Council that promotes children’s
rights and gives them a voice. The purpose of the team is to give Children in
Care and Care Leavers a voice in the service and allow young people to have a
say in the service provided to them. I really enjoyed the youth work involved
and I really wanted to get some more youth work experience. The Participation
Team told me about an Office Support apprentice
opportunity within the team that was ring fenced for Care
Leavers.
Before I got the
job, I had to go through a recruitment process which I found difficult as I’d
only had 1 job before applying for the role. The process consisted of an
application form, supporting statement, assessment centre and formal interview.
The feedback I got from the interview was very positive and I was delighted
when I was offered the job.
It was an amazing
opportunity that allowed me to gain more experience in working with young
people as well as developing my business administration skills,
within an office environment. While undertaking my apprenticeship I
completed a level 2 and level 3 Business Administration
qualification. While completing my apprenticeship
I also decided to study health and social care
with the Open University, so I had a qualification in
children’s social care for when I finished my apprenticeship. During my
apprenticeship I learnt so many skills, including managing phone calls,
delivering presentations, chairing meetings and writing reports, emails
and letters. I also learnt how to work with young people on my own; managing
groups and running 1:1 sessions. I was also given various training
opportunities, including shadowing other workers which developed my skills in
social care as well as administration.
I learnt so much
in my 2 years as an apprentice and nearing the
end of my contract, I applied for a permanent role which
required administrative skills as well as social care skills and
experience. I am now working as an Employability Co-ordinator. My role
requires me to support Care Leavers in increasing their employability
skills by running and developing an employability programme. I wouldn’t
have got this job if it wasn’t for all the skills and experience I
gained during my apprenticeship. My apprenticeship gave me the
opportunity to learn a lot and get hands on experience which really worked for
me.
Sam Heaton
Employability
Co-Ordinator
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