We have a number of Team Leader Apprentices throughout our business.
We caught up with Chris Joyce to discuss how completing his apprenticeship has enhanced his leadership skills:
Since starting the apprenticeship, I have a much better understanding of people and my team. The apprenticeship has taught me how to spot ‘categories’ that people may fall into. This has helped me to understand my team better and how to tailor the approach I take in delegating work and projects.
Not only is this good when dealing with colleagues but is also a great tool when meeting customers for the first time too. It has allowed me to tailor my approach based on the customer.
I have also learnt how to deal with problems more efficiently. I am able to keep on track better now that I have improved delegation and decision making skills.
More importantly, I have learnt to let go of things and share responsibility. This means I am coaching the team better and giving them more independence. This has helped to free up some of my time to be able to concentrate on other issues.
The apprenticeship has given me a clearer understanding of how people react to triggers and how to prevent this. In addition, my approach to projects has become a lot more methodical with both time plans and goals set out from the off. Now that I am better at planning, I don’t have as many issues to deal with.
My team are responding to my training and this is benefiting us all.
I would recommend an apprenticeship to colleagues, however I would explain how committed you need to be as it does take a lot of time. It can be easy to slip behind and then it can be a fight to get back on track.
It is important that apprentices understand this as I certainly felt at times I had bitten off more than I could chew. However the benefits I discussed above have made it worthwhile.
If you have enjoyed reading about our Apprentices’ experiences and would like more details about apprenticeships at Certas Energy, please visit our careers page: https://certasenergy.co.uk/about-certas-energy/careers/
