Events and Administrative Apprentice Review

I am an events and administrative apprentice for the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, University of Oxford. My role includes organising all events/programmes that the Centre runs and assisting my team with any administrative work. It also involves attending events on the night; checking delegates in, making sure catering arrives etc.

My confidence has massively grown since starting this apprenticeship, as well as my networking and socialising skills. In addition to this, I have significantly developed my use of IT systems; namely Excel. As well as this, I have learnt how to work in a relatively large team, with lots of moving parts and further how to cater my skills to match the needs of all my colleagues.

If I had to rank it on a scale of 1-10, it'd be a 9 for sure! I've learnt so much from this apprenticeship and gained so many valuable life skills. The opportunities I've been handed from my apprenticeship have been beyond my expectations.

Relatively organised. I'd say my employers and specifically my line manager are particular keen to give me a structure. However, I'd say the training provider is less so. College communications are always a little clunky and vague. Saying that though, my college assessor is always organised.

So much support! I am very lucky to work for such an amazing organisation that actively seeks out opportunities to grow and develop all apprentices. For example, we have monthly lunch and learns in which different members of the department teach us new skills. The network of apprentices my employer has curated is amazing, we're all very close and look out for each other.

Sufficient support. I have regular (monthly) meetings with my college assessor to review my work and talk through next steps. As well as this, I know that both my assessor and training coordinator are always on email/calls to help me no matter what the problem.

If I'm honest, not that well. Only because my role is in events with some admin on the side, so although the business admin qualification provides a good base of knowledge, it doesn't really help with my day-to-day role.

Yes! I am an apprentice ambassador for my organisation. This involves going to local schools/colleges and talking to students and parents about apprenticeships. Through this network, I've met many other apprentices like myself. It's massively improved my public speaking and networking skills and allowed me to grow both personally and professionally.

Yes

For all the reasons I've mentioned previously, but mainly, for the support I've received as an apprentice. The University is always looking to both personally and professionally develop their staff, and this always includes apprentices. Plus, the pay is better than any other apprenticeship I've seen!

Don't let the name put you off. Often, people see University of Oxford and think 'I could never get in there'. This is not the case! You don't have to be a regular Einstein to land an apprenticeship here, just be yourself and let your personality shine through. All they're looking for is a professional and capable applicant who can hold their own.