Candidate Administrator Review

My main role is the management of applicants to roles throughout the Co-op - processing them through the system, setting up interviews and creating offers. I also manage telephone calls and emails from applicants, as well as our managers to support with a range of queries on the roles and Co-op.

Throughout my apprenticeship I have definitely developed my understanding and knowledge of the HR sector as a whole, particularly in the legal aspect of my job. I have also developed my report writing skills which I have not really used since I left school. It also gave me the chance to experience different fields of HR that I have not been exposed to previously and wouldn't necessarily be in my usual role

I have found it very mixed, I very much enjoyed the written assignments as I thoroughly enjoy this kind of work and found it very interesting to learn more about each subject area. However some aspects were challenging for me due to my social anxiety - such as filming classrooms, and I found the end point project very hard to arrange as my business is so big, there is not much opportunity for my role to join in with projects so it was quite challenging

I have definitely found it varied as we have changed provider halfway through which made it all feel very unsettled. Each provider was generally well structured and clear however there was a discrepancy in who was referring to what material and who managed which aspect which made it very difficult sometimes.

My employer has been fantastic from the start - I have had two line managers throughout my programme and they have been consistently supportive and helpful throughout and always made sure I got specific time each and every week to dedicate to my work and would always be willing to do whatever they could to help me - they have been incredible. The programme lead would also check in regularly and helped with any issues we had with the provider.

My assigned tutor from Babington has been pretty great throughout - she's always available on emails and sets up regular meetings to suit my schedule and is always happy to help with any issues. We had a few problems with the confusion between the two learning providers during the transition but we were able to work through it together.

I feel like the apprenticeship has definitely given me a better overall grounding in the legal side of HR as a whole, however as my area of work is very limited and niche (due to the company size and my job grade), I generally don't have much opportunity to apply this knowledge. I think it will be useful if/when I chose to move roles though.

My company is great for networking and social activities as a whole. The entire company has a number of different networking groups for different interests - such as for LGBTQ colleagues and for women in business. They also have constant updates with any events happening in and around the office that can be joined in with - the last month they ran a month-long festival with various activities and events for the company.

Yes

The Co-op is a fantastic place to work generally - they have incredible values which every team is committed to and is exemplified in every bit of work that they do and do so much for the community and the world as well - such as their dedication to Fairtrade, ending slavery and seeking to improve the working environment for shop colleagues with the 'Safer Colleagues, Safer Communities' bill submitted to parliament. They genuinely are a company that cares.

I would suggest they take a look at all of the different roles that are available as there are so many different business areas to work within and a massive variety of roles from administration, to a solicitor, to digital work. I would also recommend looking at the different apprenticeship schemes as they offer so many different opportunities to progress and develop in each field.