Posted on: 21 January, 2020
Cranstoun believes in giving people opportunities to lead happy, healthy and safe lives. We encourage ongoing learning, as one of the five pillars of wellbeing, and have supported 13 apprentices over two years, eight in Health & Social Care and five in Business Administration. Nina Falkenberg works as a business administrator at Inspire, a community drug and alcohol service in the London Borough of Sutton that is part of Cranstoun. She started her apprenticeship in June 2019. We caught up with her to find out why she chose an apprenticeship with the organisation and how she is getting on.
What interested you in becoming an apprentice
For the experience and to gain more skills and knowledge…
Why did you choose to be an apprentice rather than studying in a college or university?
I did not know what I wanted to study so I decided to do something new like an apprenticeship to help me discover different options.
Briefly describe what you do at work.
I do general admin tasks such as answer phone calls, send emails, take messages, welcome people into the service, put referrals onto our system in addition to minute taking and other tasks I am asked to do such as sending letters, etc.
How much studying do you have to do?
I do not have to do too much studying as I mostly use the learning material I am given and I am also able to use my own experience and my work role to complete a lot of my assignments. I did however had to study for my Level 2 Maths and English exams.
What support do you get from a tutor?
I meet with my tutor once a month when she goes through a new subject with me and gives me learning material to be able to complete my assignments and workbooks. I am also able to contact her if I ever need extra help or if I am unsure about something.
What support do you get from your employer?
My line manager is always available to support me and help me out with anything I need.
What do you want to get out of your apprenticeship?
Hopefully it will help me to figure out what I would like to do in the future, and it will definitely be a good qualification to have as it has helped me gain skills and knowledge.
If you are interested in working with Cranstoun, keep an eye on our website for our vacancies, apprenticeships and volunteering.