“I feel like I am achieving my goals”
24 Jul 2018
How Building Futures apprenticeship is making a good job great for hospitality supervisor Lauren Hayes
Hospitality catering supervisor Lauren Hayes has been at the University for 13 years – since she was a teenager – and always enjoyed her job.
Now aged 30, taking on our Building Futures apprenticeship has made a good job great for Lauren.
“I started this apprenticeship to gain more knowledge and confidence in and around my job role,” she explains.
“I am really enjoying the Building Futures programme, it’s everything I thought it would be. I feel like I am achieving my goals.”
Building Futures is an apprenticeship for existing staff, created with our £1.9 million Apprenticeship Levy, part of a government initiative to create an additional 3 million apprenticeships in England by 2020. It currently supports 53 colleagues both professionally and personally by equipping them with additional skills in areas such as IT and business management. It aims to give them the confidence to progress further at work and also help them at home, so they can manage domestic finances or appointments online or help their children with their homework as education becomes increasingly digitised.
Lauren, like many of our Building Futures apprentices, does a lot of study at home – there is a lot of written work, which she agrees is “quite challenging at times”, so this helps her concentrate.
And back at work, she can feel its impact: “I feel this course is helping me professionally as I am gaining confidence rapidly. I feel this is an amazing opportunity for employees at the University to take part in this course.”
As a consequence, she sees her future right here on campus – doing more courses and further development work, continuing to increase her confidence and enthusiasm and enhance her performance and, as a result, enriching our workforce.
Head of Hospitality And Events, Alison Shedlock, said: “We have been delighted to see the development of our staff through the Building Futures apprenticeships. Lauren is the perfect example of how it can give keen and committed colleagues the skills and confidence they need – and indeed deserve – to make the most of working here at the University.”Assistant Director of HR Steve Grant said: “I am really pleased that Lauren is enjoying the programme and already reaping the benefits.
“Building Futures is designed to ensure that all staff have access to opportunities to acquire new qualifications and skills which will create pathways for progression and contribute to job satisfaction.
“The apprenticeship landscape is evolving and the view of what an apprenticeship is or involves is no longer relevant. Today apprenticeships are available to anyone ranging from the traditional school leaver entry level provision to postgraduate qualifications.”
Further information
If you would like to enrol on a Building Futures apprenticeship, please speak to your line manager.
Line managers can get further information on the Building Futures apprenticeships by emailing: