Life under lockdown as an Apprentice
Life under Lockdown as an Apprentice
As the UK went into lockdown on Monday 23rd March,
my role as an Apprenticeships Administrator at Devon County Council has changed significantly. I am fortunate that my role allows me to work from home and my
employer has agreed to us borrowing IT equipment from the office to ensure we
are able to work from home effectively during this time.
Whilst still undertaking essential apprenticeship work, I
have been trained in new processes to support our payroll and recruitment team
within the HR department. This included learning the process for inputting new
starters onto the Council’s HR management system and supporting
the recruitment team, alongside Proud to Care on a campaign to recruit
Healthcare Assistants and other vital roles because of COVID-19. Proud to Care work
with local councils and the NHS across the care and health sector to support
organisations with recruitment and raise awareness of the range of different
job opportunities within the sector. Those interested in becoming a Healthcare
Assistant, register through the Proud
to Care website.
Alongside my role I am also undertaking a Level 3 HR Support
apprenticeship with Exeter College. Usually, on a Thursday I would attend
college but due to the closure of schools, childcare and other educational
settings, I am now being supported to study and work remotely. My college provided
apprentices with a remote working guide and I am in regular contact with my
tutor and assessor. Being a smaller group, my tutor has arranged for us to
start having ‘virtual lessons’ through Microsoft Teams after Easter break which
I am looking forward to! We have already been provided with additional
resources on the College’s ‘Moodle’ portal and I have purchased a course book
recommended by my tutor to help me with my studies.
My wider team have been making use of the technology we have
at Devon County Council to stay in touch and receive regular updates through
Microsoft teams, especially as we are all working on different projects now. The
Apprenticeship team have been arranging short weekly ‘virtual tea breaks’ where
we spend time catching up informally.
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| Microsoft Teams Meeting |
I have been making full use of
technology in my personal life to stay connected with other people. My partner
and I have been living at our home during lockdown which means I’m not able to
see my family, so instead we have been catching up over video calls on WhatsApp.
On Saturday nights, my friends and I have been taking it in turns to host a Zoom
quiz night and we started it off with a quiz of 2019. I have also been enjoying
going for a daily walk around the countryside by our home and learning how to
cook some new vegan dishes!
Amy Kyme
Apprenticeships Administrator
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