Lead Process Engineer Review

Leading the engineering team within our digital processing operations department. Managing the team and activities to ensure the upkeep of all processing equipment and supporting the surrounding teams in achieving a target driven examinations processing service. Liaising with all key stakeholders through communications such as face to face, email, video conference and telecommunications to ensure expectations aligning with business objectives are met. Budget management, project management, stock and purchasing, team meetings, individual one to ones and personal development are some of my responsibilities, along with promoting our companies behaviours that are paramount as we build on our culture which focuses on four core values, brave, decent, imaginative and accountable.

Completed Level 5 CMI in Operations Management and Leadership, along with a number of online training courses as part of my personal development to support my new role as a leader. The courses have focused on improving knowledge and learning techniques around stakeholder needs, time management, mentoring, coaching, behaviours, feedback, leadership theories and aiming to achieve a high performing team. I have learnt a great deal since stepping up into my leadership role, a have found a number of areas of study to have helped in the success such as, situational leadership, implementing techniques from theories such as John Adairs theory task, team and individual. Also understanding what quality is, the difference between expectation and requirement, prioritising and looking after the welfare of my team members. This includes reviewing the way in which I lead my team and the individuals within it, looking at development needs, opportunities and building trust and honesty to create a healthy culture.

I have now completed, but a number of elements about the programme that I enjoyed included the following: Being able to balance study with work and to apply the learning to my role as I was learning, this helped my understanding and development which was an immediate benefit. The impact on my team has been impressive, since being in my leadership position and with the aid of my apprenticeship qualification my team has improved greatly. As a result of the changes I have put in place the team have been more exposed to the wider business and they are now being recognised for their importance and great standards they are achieving. As a result each individual has improved, whether it be in their behaviours or in their performance and I believe it is greatly linked with the way in which I can lead them due to my learning. The learning provider understands our company culture and I have been able to align my learning with that, taking into consideration any impact that it may have. I didn't know what my expectations were as such to begin with, but I believe although at times I feel I missed out on some of the more practical elements, overall expectations were met. There were times that I did not enjoy the loneliness of the learning and feel that on reflection my preferred learning environment would be classroom format, but in terms of fitting in with work expectations, this option is very beneficial.

I feel a number of elements to the structure of my programme were good, but many of which could have been better and occasionally put strain on my learning and progress. The induction process was stress free and efficient, the training lacked due to the failure to complete a number of workshops that were planned throughout the programme, however on most occasions the support from a tutoring point of view was exceptional. The review meetings met expectations, they were thorough and beneficial, the support when required even though predominantly telecommunication was greatly received. I didn't like the online portal and task delegation system, I believed it to be too restricted, having said that, there was good reasoning behind it, it just didn't work well for me and the provider was able to customise it thankfully. I had a number of different tutors during my two years, so this became difficult for me when building up a trusting relationship and understanding. I think the programme could be better organised and follow a more simple structure and a better formatted explanation to support apprentice understanding.

Overall I think my employer Pearson has offered incredible support during my apprenticeship experience. I strongly believe during the critical stages of my progression through the programme, if it wasn't for the guidance and encouragement received from the apprenticeship team, I may have given up or failed in my expectations put myself. I had the right balance of interaction with my managers, they respected the flexibility of my learning and offered extra support when it was needed. Pearson went above and beyond my expectations in the respect shown to apprentices and the level of dedication shown to supporting those wanting to achieve and move on in the careers and development. Pearson encourage all their employees to consider having at least one mentor, I have two and I believe they have also contributed massively in the success of my programme. Not only have they been able to share their experiences and knowledge but they have been able to help with my personal development through challenging my with constructive and honest feedback. Pearsons apprenticeship team always go above and beyond when it comes to the welfare of those learning and working for the business. They are prompt in offering guidance, supporting queries with providers and actively promoting a healthy apprenticeship experience within the business.

Overall I have to say, the level of support greatly improved from my provider during my programme and I believe the structure and learning offered was fairly new to them. The most positive comment I can make is that they listened to the concerns and opinions of their learners and addressed them the best way they could. Therefore in terms of meeting my expectations, I feel like in the end I was more than happy with the support I received. At the initial stages I struggled to get the support I required and this made me feel negatively and that I believed this programme was not right for me. However, understandings developed and both provider and learner were able to find a way that worked best. Overall, I would recommend a qualification via apprenticeship programme but I didn't enjoy the study, I already worked for the business but I feel that being able to learn actively in a working environment is the most beneficial element. However, on reflection, the reward from the learning, not the qualification as such but the impact that the learning has had on my team is the enjoyment I have felt and am thankful for.

Well. I thought I was well equipped due to the experience I have within my business to perform in a leadership role, but I have to say there are certain times I can honestly say that through learning I have been successful. My eyes were greatly opened when I began to learn about leadership and the difference between that and management, this has helped immensely in understanding the needs of my team members. I was happy to learn the necessary qualities that a leader must posses were how I viewed management and I fell that has given my so much confidence within my new role. I have been able to develop strong, honest, respectful relationships with each of my team members and from learning I have been able to apply different techniques to support each of them. One of the most important things that I have learned is being able to communicate the business expectations to my team at a level of understanding so they can easily align their objectives and know that they helping the business to achieve it's goals. I haven't used many theories a such but I have reflected on a number of them to help decision making and adjust the way in which I lead, specifically under the circumstances we are in now with covid-19. I was having to adapt the way in which I managed task, team and individual whilst understanding priority and making big decisions in order to continue to meet business expectations regardless of the obstacles in our way. I would never have had the confidence to stand in front of senior management and offer my advise and opinion, without the knowledge and learning that I have received as a result of this apprenticeship.

Pearson offer everything in this question and more and more after that. It would take me all day to list them all. Sometimes you need to dip your toe in the water to open up opportunities you didn't know were there but if you are interested you will not be disappointed. For example, being part of the apprenticeship ambassadors team offers some incredible opportunities to network or be involved in an event of great magnitude. Every employee gets to join the local social teams, being able to take part in anything from dining events to days out on a survival experience. We are communicated with on a regular basis about events or programmes aimed at supporting or promoting within our local communities as they are one of our main stakeholders, the learners.

Yes

Proud to be a member of Pearson for almost 19 years. I can say this honestly, there have been many many times I have reviewed my career and wondered whether or not I should look for a new challenge. Pearson believed in my development and offered me all the challenges I needed to get me where I am today. They invest in their employees and truly care for growth, whether it be in an existing role of a career path within or outside the business. Pearson does offer very good benefits, from pension schemes, saving schemes, personal welfare schemes and many many more, but the main thing for me is the opportunities. They give not just their key stakeholders 'the learners' the opportunity to grow through learning, but they give their workforce that opportunity too. The culture within the organisation is extremely well balanced and evolves with the times, offering a friendly and comfortable working environment but at the same time delivering excellence and achieving job satisfaction. Each year I have been an employee at Pearson, something new and exciting always makes me want to stay and be part of the journey.

This is a difficult one, I have been part of a number of interview process and I have never seen the same interview twice. I would say, no matter the questions asked, no matter the pressure you feel under or the nerves you might be fighting off, show that you are honest, motivated, committed and have a desire to learn. I always walk out of an interview and reflect on attitude, I believe the right attitude can go a long long way. Oh and the other thing, don't be afraid to ask questions, you would have been briefed on the business and the role prior to an interview, so go in with some questions that you don't want to walk away not knowing the answers.