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Welcome to the WorkWise Apprenticeship Podcast.
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If you're thinking about starting an apprenticeship, you're unsure of what your next step might be, or you simply want to hear from people who are already doing these jobs, then you're in the right place.
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The interviewers and apprentices you'll hear throughout this podcast aren't professional broadcasters or media trained guests.
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They volunteered to take part because, just like you, they want the next generation to understand the opportunities available and make informed choices about their future.
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So let's meet our guests and hear their stories on the WorkWise Apprenticeship Podcast.
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Great job! Thank you for listening to the WorkWise Podcast.
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I'm Raddy Barlow, and today I'm joined by Charlotte Seymour, and I'm the HR talent business partner at Mountjoy.
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And what does that involve?
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Tell us a bit about your job.
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Um, so I basically oversee recruitment and retention.
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Um, so we look at kind of ways in which we can recruit, ways in which we can kind of keep staff in.
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So we kind of are constantly reviewing our processes and everything kind of that goes into Mountjoy to make sure people stay, and that basically we are attracting the right talent into the business.
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So uh looking after and and recruiting apprentices must be quite a big part of that then.
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Yes.
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So I basically um I get involved at the very first point of um kind of identifying the need for an apprentice.
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So I'll look at kind of getting the advert done.
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I'll also kind of like initially sift through CVs, um, kind of making sure that they've got obviously the right kind of qualities for the job, and then I'll liaise with the managers and get um interviews booked in, and then we kind of manage kind of the pre-screening um recruitment processes in terms of like getting them on boarded, um, getting them involved, making sure they kind of feel part of the business.
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So you're the first person they need to impress them, basically, is what you're telling us.
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Uh yes.
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Yeah, you are good, good, good, good.
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So when an apprentice first walks through the door, what are they looking for what are you looking for from them?
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And and before they've even had a chance to kind of prove their technical skills.
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I think from my point of view, it's I suppose their enthusiasm and willingness to kind of learn.
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Ultimately, if you're doing an apprenticeship, you won't necessarily have the technical skills already.
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They'll be things that you learn on the job.
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So for us, it's just looking at kind of their willingness to learn, making sure that they kind of are ultimately, I suppose, not falling on their feet first, but they need to be able to prove that they are willing to do an apprenticeship because ultimately it is it is difficult.
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They're going to be working a lot of the time four days a week, along with doing the college work.
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And outside of that, they obviously have to kind of do their portfolios.
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So for us, it's kind of a real dedication to doing the apprenticeship and obviously willingness to learn.
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Yeah.
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And so I don't what don't want to talk negatively, but where do where do apprentices or potential apprentices tend to fall down at the uh the earliest hurdle?
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Is it kind of is it their CV writing?
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What are the areas that they really need to kind of focus on where where where they can make improvements?
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I think from my point of view, um obviously CVs are important because they you're they're trying to prove their skills.
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Um but from my point of view, I wouldn't look at a CV and think, oh, this this might not be as good as another one.
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For me, I'm looking at the skills, um, their qualities, because I think that's kind of the most important um thing.
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I think also it's kind of just the general kind of day-to-day skills in terms of like you have to be pretty good at timekeeping, and it's stuff like that that I think some apprentices struggle with because they may have just come out of school where although they've kind of done the schoolwork, they've done the homework, it might there might be a bit more leniency, whereas with an apprenticeship it's quite structured.
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Um, so I would say from kind of from that perspective.
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Yeah, I think that's I think that's fair.
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So what separates an apprentice who is, you know, doing all right, doing okay from one who really stands out, makes you think, do you know what, we want to keep this person there, they're one to stick around?
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I think definitely, again, like I've said, the willingness to learn.
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Um, I think that that constant wanting to do better as well.
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Um we have a lot of apprentices, a lot of apprentices, but again, there are kind of ones that do stand out more and it it is more about kind of
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their willingness to learn, their kind of resilience, their ability to go above and beyond and kind of take the feedback and learn from that.
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Um And when you say when you talk about the resilience, what do you mean?
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Like what what what in particular are you thinking of when you say they need to be resilient in this role?
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I think it's quite because again, it's quite a new potentially it's a new role for a lot of people.
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They might not have had the experience.
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So they've got to be, I suppose, open to getting feedback that they might not necessarily be used to.
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Um, but they need to kind of understand that it's coming from a space of we want you to do better, we want you to get this.
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So just kind of understanding that.
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And I suppose it's different, isn't it, from getting feedback at school and from a teacher that you may not but butt heads against with where's an employer that wants you to do well, I suppose.
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Yeah.
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Um and so young people sometimes worry they'll be expected to know everything from day one.
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So, what do you actually expect an apprentice to know when they first join you?
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From a technical aspect, not necessarily a lot, because again, you know, an apprenticeship is that opportunity to learn those skills.
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Um, so we, you know, us as well as the managers and everyone within the business don't expect kind of individuals to know a lot, and we expect to be able to support them from the very first point, whether that's I don't know, picking up a paintbrush and teaching them the skills to be able to do that.
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So, from our point of view, you know, we do look for individuals that may have kind of been exposed to a bit of work experience so they kind of know what it is like, but from a technical aspect, not not a huge amount.
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Um, ultimately, from our point of view, skills can be taught.
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And if we put the time in and if they're willing to learn that, then we're happy with that.
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So you're not looking for perfection from day one?
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Absolutely not, absolutely not, and kind of perfection, yes, is amazing, but also, you know, we also would like people that kind of try their best, and as long as we know they're trying their best, then that's fine.
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Exactly, exactly.
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So, from an employer's point of view, then why does the apprenticeship system work?
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So, I mean, what does Mountjoy gain from developing someone uh rather than just recruiting someone who who is already perfect?
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Yeah, so again, it's kind of you're you're able to mould um these individuals into kind of one kind of how you want them to kind of fit in within the business, how you want them to learn.
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Um, and I suppose it's kind of those first impressions of they come into Mountjoy and they've kind of your your being able to set those expectations.
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Um I think they really work as well because obviously you've got the school learning or the college learning side of it as well as on-the-job learning.
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Um, so you're able to, like I said, you're able to mould them into kind of what you would like to see, and also your kind of is the future work talent, so you need to be able to kind of invest that time into supporting them.
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And how can someone fit into Mountjoy?
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What what is that type of person you're looking for?
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I think it's someone that has that wants to do a good job, really wants to do a good job, um, and has I suppose has the same values as us.
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Um we're very strong on our values, so for us it's kind of making sure that they kind of know of those values and they are able to kind of demonstrate demonstrate them.
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Um I suppose having that pride in their work as well, pride in themselves, I suppose.
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Absolutely, absolutely.
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And we um we kind of push so much that we want people to take pride in kind of everything they do.
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So yeah.
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I mean if we were to look maybe five, ten years into the future, what opportunities do you think there'll be for today's apprentices?
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So if someone's joining you at Mountjoy, how could somebody go further and what what is their what's their realistic chances of progression, I suppose?
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I think within Mountjoy, I think with any other places I've worked, the amount of progression and promotion is huge.
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Um so we've seen quite a few people that have started off as an apprentice and work their way up and they're now kind of a supervisor and they're managing a team.
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So I think if you've kind of if you've want to do that and you've got kind of the right skills, you can you can do it.
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And kind of aside from apprenticeships, we also offer kind of training programs that people can do.
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Uh so I think if you want, if you want to do it, you definitely can.
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There's so many kind of roles and opportunities within within Mountjoy.
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And of course, the apprenticeship gives you some qualifications as well and transferable skills.
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What sort of qualifications can people expect to gain from doing an apprenticeship with you?
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So we currently, we currently offer kind of like painting and decorating, so you can get an apprenticeship in that.
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You've got electrical, you've got plumbing.
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Um, we also do some kind of office side ones.
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So we've done kind of a HR apprenticeship in um kind of not that long ago.
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So there are a lot of opportunities.
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I think people look at Mount Joy and think it's just the construction side.
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Um, and although kind of that is our main area in which we kind of develop apprenticeships, there are also a lot of other areas that kind of are behind the scenes within the office that that still get those opportunities.
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Uh well, thank you very much, Charlotte from Mountjoy.
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It's been a pleasure talking to you.
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And uh we'll be back soon.
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Great job.
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Thank you for listening to the Workwise Apprenticeship Podcast.
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We hope you've enjoyed hearing real experiences from apprentices and employers, and that it's helped you learn more about the opportunities available through apprenticeships.
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If you have a question, you can send it directly through the platform you're listening on, and we'll make sure it reaches the right person.
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For more information about apprenticeships with Mountjoy, visit mountjoy.co.uk, or for general information about apprenticeships, visit apprenticeships.gov.uk.
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Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time on the Workwise Apprenticeship Podcast.