Apprentice thriving in role at East Sussex College

East Sussex College Business Administration apprentice, Rosemary Aitkin, has thrived in her role at the College. Rosemary is a primary example of how the College not only values training apprentices, but also employing them.

Rosemary has been working at East Sussex College for a year and a half, and is in the process of completing a Level 3 Business Administration course.

Speaking on why she decided to venture into the world of apprenticeships, Rosemary said, “I decided to do an apprenticeship because I didn’t want to go to university or any sort of higher education. But, I still wanted to get a qualification and I also felt an apprenticeship would give me the work experience I needed to get into another job.

“After my apprenticeship, I’m hoping to progress into a full-time role within the College. I really enjoy working here, I love the people that I work with, so hopefully I can get a full-time role!”

East Sussex College works collaboratively with employers in delivering on the job training and qualifications that apprentices need to complete their learning programme.

Rosemary encouraged companies to take on apprentices, and said, “I think other companies should take on an apprentice because it’s such a great experience for the apprentice. It allows them to work whilst they learn and gain experience that they wouldn’t have gained if they were in an educational setting. For example, dealing with colleagues and how to speak to them all, different types of communication including emails - because I didn’t have any experience with that before I started working here.

“It’s really great being an apprentice because you do get to work whilst you learn. You also get to earn money which is nice because you wouldn’t do that if you’re in full-time education.”

She added, “It’s a really great experience, you learn a lot of things. It’s a lot different to being in school because you’re working with adults and it’s a lot nicer.”

Summer Heitzman, acting Apprenticeship Delivery Manager at East Sussex College, is part of the recruitment process of apprentices and was also one herself at the College six years ago, when she completed a Business Administration apprenticeship.

Summer said, “Apprenticeships are my passion. We recruit apprentices because we’re a training provider, we deliver apprenticeships and show other employers that we also train apprentices. It’s a really good way for anyone who wants to be an apprentice to learn whilst they work.”

“We mainly employ Business Administration apprentices here at the College, but we also do AAT which is from Level 2 to Level 4. We’ve previously delivered for Customer Service in student services and do management - so any managers could do an apprenticeship alongside their role to gain a Level 3 or Level 5 management qualification.”

She added, “In our department, all of our apprentices have gone on to full-time employment at the College and then have progressed into different roles. For example, myself. I was employed as a Level 2 Business Admin apprentice, progressed to Level 3, and since then I’ve been an administrator, compliance officer and now delivery manager - so there’s definitely progression for everyone.”

Speaking on why East Sussex College is the place for you to become an apprentice, Summer said, “I’d recommend that people become an apprentice at East Sussex College because we offer a good apprenticeship programme, and learners get to learn while they’re working which is an important factor.

“A lot of employers would see that you’ve done an apprenticeship and see that you’ve got the work-based skills to move forward.”

To find out more about the apprenticeships on offer at East Sussex College and explore a wide variety of industry sectors, including Accounting and Business Administration, please visit: www.escg.ac.uk/apprenticeships/our-industry-sectors.