Leon joined the ACL Commercial team in October 2020 as a Business Administration Apprentice and has been supporting the Business Development team to engage with businesses, learners, and organisations to promote ACL opportunities.
We recently caught up with Leon to see the progress he has continued to make in his career journey.
What new projects have you been working on since you started your apprenticeship?
I have been given the freedom to help others and work on different projects and areas within ACL. From managing very significant employment paperwork for apprentices, to promoting marketing content via the ACL LinkedIn channel. As part of my apprenticeship, I have to create and implement a specific project. I chose to focus my project on Health & Safety.
Overall, I have been involved in a range of different projects and enjoyed collaborating with new people (internally and externally) with the overall aim of improving our services. I have developed hugely from taking on an apprenticeship with ACL; I have gained skills, knowledge and self-confidence.
Can you tell us a little bit more about the Health and Safety project?
The objective of this project is to deliver a health and safety process to evidence that our apprenticeship provision is meeting both Health and Safety requirements as outlined by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA ).
I want to ensure the safety of all our learners and the process will enable me to keep a live, up to date system which can now tell all staff members at ACL when an employer will need to renew and update their Employer Liability Insurance and their Health & Safety/Risk Assessment details. This new system allows ACL to be compliant with the legal responsibilities from the ESFA and the Healthy and Safety Act. If we have any inspections from Ofsted and they want to see how this particular process works within ACL, we can show them all the records that every learner and employer is up to date and has a safe and secure place of employment.
Have you taken on anymore responsibilities?
I have taken on a lot of responsibilities. Colleagues and external stakeholders rely upon my hard work to make sure we get as many apprenticeship starts as possible. I am now responsible for creating, promoting and managing all apprenticeship vacancies for ACL. I do this on the official government apprenticeship website and promote on our social channels.
Have your career goals changed?
When I started my apprenticeship with ACL, I wasn’t sure which area to pursue for my future career. This apprenticeship has allowed me to get a taste for some work in each department to see what a future role could entail. I am still very happy currently working as a Business Administrator for Essex County Council. During my apprenticeship, I have seen how varied and diverse the council actually is with a wide range of employment routes and roles to support the residents and businesses of Essex.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?
I truly have had an amazing apprenticeship experience with ACL. I have developed from someone who was shy, didn’t have many skills or experience, to a levelled up team member. I have also gained a full time job opportunity and I couldn’t be more thankful for my line manager believing in me and teaching me new skills to succeed. I really am enjoying my time here and I can’t wait for us to grow even bigger and create more successful stories as a community.
We offer apprenticeships at levels 2 through to 5 in a range of sectors. Programmes are suitable if you’re leaving school or college, looking for a change of career or already in work but requiring new skills to support a promotion or change of job role. For more information and list of apprenticeships, please click here.
We are running free online information sessions for those interested in an apprenticeship and employers looking to recruit or upskill their staff. These will be running during National Apprenticeship Week (7-13 February). If you are interested in signing up to one of these sessions, please click here.
