Leanne Carey successfully completed one of St Helens Chamber’s Fast Track to an Apprenticeship courses and has now taken up the role of Finance and Administration Apprentice at Livesey Spottiswood.
After completing her A-Levels, Leanne felt the pressure of exams hindered her performance and was unsure about which direction she should take in her future career.
She said: “I’d not done as well as I’d wanted to in my A-Levels and I wasn’t really sure whether going to university was for me; so I decided to take some time out to try and decide what I wanted to do”.
While taking some time out working as a lifeguard and swimming coach, a family friend recommended she find out about how St Helens Chamber could help her into an Apprenticeship role.
“I went along to the open day and the Fast Track to an Apprenticeship course sounded really exciting. With the opportunity to learn on the job and not in a classroom, the Apprenticeship route seemed perfect for me”.
On the course, Leanne took advantage of all the help and support the Chamber were providing; particularly working on her CV which needed some improvements. She also developed her interview skills, an area in which Leanne felt her confidence needed boosting.
“The Fast Track to an Apprenticeship programme definitely helped, before doing the course my CV was boring and didn’t have much information in and I didn’t have much confidence in interviews, so these parts of the course in particular really helped me get to where I am today.
“The Career Coaches matched me to my current position and recommended that I apply, because they saw I was ready to go into the workplace and my skills were a good fit for the job”.
Now, Leanne works as a Finance and Administration Apprentice at local accountant Livesey Spottiswood.
Leanne said: “My working week is split, so three days a week I work with Payroll; taking care of company payrolls and making sure their pension payments are all correct. I speak with clients regularly and ensure everything is correct before processing their payroll.
“The rest of my week is spent on Admin; manning the reception desk, answering phone calls, writing up invoices and filing. I’m also responsible for checking the Ledger is correct and that the total of all invoices add up to the correct amount. My role is really varied”.
Leanne is happy in her current role which has lots of scope for progression and she can keep learning and work her way up while getting qualifications. She is currently working towards her Level 2 Business Administration qualification and has attended more Chamber seminars through her employer – such as time management – to help boost her CV and job performance.
Leanne commented: “I would definitely recommend a Fast Track to an Apprenticeship course to anyone wanting to get ready for work and anyone who would rather learn on the job than in a classroom; I’ve already told one of my friends to sign up for the next course!
“I really don’t think I’d be where I am now without the Chamber’s help, they gave me the direction and support I needed when I was feeling a lost over which route to take”.
For more information about Apprenticeships please call St Helens Chamber on 01744 742045 or email apprenticeships@sthelenschamber.com
