Distinction, Distinction, Distinction!

A congratulations is in order for three of our Poultec Training Ltd directors. Nathan, our Operations Director and Associate Directors, Leroy and Ben have all received the news they were hoping for as they all achieve distinctions in the final part of their Level 5 Operations & Departmental Manager Apprenticeship. The Independent End Point Assessment consisted of a knowledge test, a competency-based interview, an assessment of portfolio of evidence, a presentation of work-based project with Q&A and a professional discussion relating to CPD activity.

All three apprentices were very unsure on how they had done as they found the EPA assessor difficult to judge, they said ‘you are not given any indication on how well you have done during the assessment.’ As soon as they had achieved a distinction, they all felt pleased, proud and relieved. ‘I feel like my result is justified because I put in a huge amount of time and hard work to achieve it. I like everything I do to be done at a high standard and this qualification was no different. Also, being part of the senior management team and having two other directors in the same cohort meant there was a little bit of competition. I came out on top beating my colleague by just 1%!’ said Ben.

This Apprenticeship has certainly helped all three analyse what they do more closely and made them consider other working methods within their current job roles. ‘The knowledge and theory elements of the Apprenticeship have given me the confidence and understanding to be a better manager.’ says Ben. One particular module, Emotional Intelligence give the apprentices an insight into their behaviours, learning and working style which enables them to delegate and distribute workloads accordingly to their team to achieve better outcomes. ‘This has allowed me to understand why different management processes and approaches are effective in different situations’ states Leroy.

Apprenticeships are aimed to prepare learners for the next step in their career and give them exposure into techniques which might not form part of their everyday workload. ‘We looked at topics such as project management, operational management and finance which has been useful in my new role’ said Nathan. Now that I have completed this Apprenticeship I can successfully participate in creating and developing cash flow forecasts, cost benefit analysis and complex financial budgets specifically for my department’ comments Ben.

At Poultec as part of our appraisal system, we complete complex personal development plans. Nathan, Leroy and Ben all discussed doing this managerial qualification in their appraisal. ‘I wanted to ensure that I was up to date on management practices and ensure that I had the right skills to be an effective manager’ added Leroy. ‘I have always been ambitious and I felt in order to make that next step, I needed to study towards a managerial qualification’ said Ben. Nathan added ‘As a training provider, it is important that we also ensure that our own CPD is maintained and we challenge ourselves.’

If you are looking to or have recently progressed into a senior management role, this Apprenticeship is the one for you. ‘It is ideal for somebody who has been newly promoted into a senior management role’ states Nathan. ‘It will provide you with the skills, knowledge and confidence to manage more efficiently and effectively. It is quite a commitment but certainly worthwhile!’ says Ben. ‘Whilst hard work, the sense of achievement at the end is immense’ said Leroy.

Their tutor, Michelle added ‘I am so pleased that Nathan, Leroy and Ben have all achieved a distinction for their Level 5 Operations & Departmental Manager Apprenticeship. They all worked extremely hard throughout their course to enable them to achieve this grade.’

For more information, to recruit or to apply for an Apprenticeship visit www.poultec.co.uk or call 01362 850983.