Job Title: Operations Manager
Employer: CATS Global Schools
Quote: “My apprenticeship with EDN has already had a positive impact on my career as I have moved on to another role with a wider and broader remit than my previous positions.”
Why an apprenticeship?
The decision to undertake an apprenticeship was challenging due to the nature of my role, balancing my workload, the demand of being on the road for up to four hours a day and the needs of my family.
With my role within the company growing, the needs of the business ever changing and having a feeling of needing a challenge for my own self development, I took the challenge on to develop not only myself personally but also professionally as I felt I had so much to give back to the company, the teams and the business stakeholders. I also saw it as an opportunity to expand and develop my knowledge, skills and experience and to step back into structured learning and development after nearly 30 years. This was both daunting and exciting, tinged with a dash of apprehension and fear in my own abilities to complete the learning journey.
I started the Operations/Departmental Manager Level 5 Apprenticeship with Holroyd Howe, the company I was working for at the time. I was part of the first co-hort of 12 selected managers to undertake this apprenticeship which was specially designed in association with HIT Training and was titled “Leaders of The Future”. It ran alongside the ILM 5 qualification which could be undertaken in tandem.
The course started just as Covid hit the country, so this had a massive impact on the learning and development of the co-hort as the plan was for all delegates to undertake the learning journey as a group/team to enable a strong support network and build a resilient bond between us all. The 12 face-to-face workshops ranging from Employment Law, Self-Awareness, Project Management, Leading People, Negotiating and Influencing, Coaching for Performance and Financial Management to name a few were moved online to Team/ Zoom.
This impacted the majority of the co-hort as we were all very much people persons, who thrived with face-to-face communication as we all worked in the service industry. But this was a challenge we all overcame, growing stronger together as a group by supporting each other through the challenges of Covid and the business, personal and professional impact it had on all sectors, individuals and businesses alike.
The course involved me undertaking foundation maths and English as I hadn’t studied for over 20 years. After successfully navigating the foundation skills, I worked my way through a wide range of modules with the support of Vocational Trainer Sadie Grist, my coach, support, therapist and councillor on my learning journey. I also undertook a wide range of online modules on the Star learning platform, which I completed.
Benefitting my business
Holroyd Howe and especially Sandra Oakes and the wider team supported me wholeheartedly during my apprenticeship by giving me the time away from work and the space to grow as an individual and spend time to study and attend the wide range of workshops that were part of the learning journey.
My core duties were to support the wider Operations Management team in managing independent and private school catering contracts in the south of England from Bournemouth to Kent and South London. My duties were vast ranging from mobilising new contracts including training, TUPE talks, procurement, process and practice, skills-based training, recruitment, team building and carrying out internal Health and Food Safety Audits, among others.
Following the course, I was appointed to a new role of Operations Manager with an independent international private school during which I have broadened my skills, knowledge, abilities and capabilities in a wide range of disciplines from project managing the building of new sports facilities within seven months of starting the new role, to planning and delivering a new medical facility in an existing school building within a seven-day period while the students were away on holiday.
I now manage a team of 35 people with three direct reports managing the operations department which encompasses maintenance and cleaning of 14 buildings and the catering provisions across 10 boarding houses, a coffee bar and main dining hall. So, my team, time management, communication, stakeholder relationship skills, project management skills and knowledge have improved and enabled me to effectively manage a diverse range of people, projects, conflicting priorities and demands of the wider stakeholders.
My learning curve has seen exponential growth over the last two years since my appointment where I have learnt new skills, expanded my knowledge of planning work schedules, maintenance plans, managing departments that I have not had contact, experience with and areas of the business previously. Thanks to the apprenticeship, I have also been able to demonstrate a wide range of skills from building a strong department team, recruiting the right people for the right role, delivering and managing a wide range of projects, managing conflicting priorities and business demands, as well as overseeing business operations on a day-to-day basis.
While I have already progressed into a new role, taking my skills, knowledge and learning from the apprenticeship with me, it’s hard to say where I will be in two years’ time. As the business moves very rapidly, other opportunities may arise that I cannot foresee and will potentially take me on another part of the journey.
The EDN difference
I had amazing support from my Vocational Trainer Sadie Grist and other EDN VTs during my apprenticeship with regular calls and reviews and support in terms of deadlines, CPD and any challenges around the workload, modules and Star modules.
My apprenticeship with EDN has had a positive impact on my career as I have already moved on to another employer in a role of Operations Manager with a wider and broader remit than my previous positions. I know that undertaking the apprenticeship gave me the self-confidence, knowledge skills, drive and determination to succeed in my new position.
I have also started to implement an apprenticeship scheme with my new employer and my first apprentice who is studying toward a Level 4 Kitchen Manager qualification is benefiting from my knowledge, experience and understanding of the process and demands of the apprenticeship. I am very passionate and a strong advocate of this type of training and development and will always champion its benefits to any new employee that joins our teams.