March Apprentice of the Month - Ben Pool
We are happy to announce that the winner of the LDN Apprentice of the Month is Ben @ Caritas Recruitment!
Nominated by LDN Skills Coach, Steve Bond - we received some awesome feedback from Ben’s line manager Jonjo Hood-Wright, which you can read below!
Ben’s Skills Coach:
The massive turnaround with Ben in the last few months has been incredible! I have seen Ben work extremely hard to complete his coursework, as well as working diligently and methodically towards his ICT exam last week.
As Jonjo (his manager) stated recently, Ben’s application to both his coursework and job role responsibilities has been highly commendable. His work ethic has been really strong over the past couple of months, and I can also concur that his commitment to the programme itself has seen a massive change, as he has fully taken ownership of his apprenticeship.
Ben’s Line Manager
Energy:
Ben has consistently maintained his energy levels over since the turn of the year, we have seen big improvements in his application and contribution to the business, which has led to positive outcomes. Each day Ben has tasks that need to be completed and these are completed on time.
Enthusiasm:
This was something that we asked Ben to take feedback on towards the end of last year as sometimes his enthusiasm didn’t always come across in his phone calls and work… Since receiving this feedback, Ben has taken steps to improve this and show his enthusiasm for his role. We are currently working from home so we have had to do a lot of collaborative work over Zoom and Phone Calls, which he has been able to increase his engagement with and now he comes across as enthusiastic and engaged.
Willingness To Learn:
Since an in-depth review with Steve and myself towards the end of last year, Ben has taken a very different approach and is consistently asking questions, seeking out new ways of working, and using the ‘buddy’ scheme we set up for him. This has meant he has been able to make big strides in his role and is now being tasked with more responsibilities as he has gained a level of trust which has come from being pro-active and open to learning opportunities.
He has done this by setting up coaching sessions, speaking with his colleagues, and generally engaging more with the business to find out how he can progress.
Ability To Take Feedback:
Ben has taken feedback positively and proactively! He created an improvement plan and has met the targets which were set around these, which has led to him being able to contribute positively to the business. I am sure he would be open and say that he was finding things tough but was not seeking feedback or engaging with feedback enough, but as I have mentioned after an in-depth review last year, it seemed to click and Ben is now seriously engaging with a feedback loop and coming up with action plans himself. This means he is a real asset to the team he supports.
Propensity To Take Action:
Ben has improved on this immeasurably. I think the learning curve around being proactive is one of the most impressive points about Ben’s last few months of work, as it has seemed to click with him now and he gets real satisfaction from resolving an issue before the client would have expected response or even knew there was an issue. He focuses each day on ensuring he is proactive and is on top of any issues before they become issues, saving him a serious amount of time in the long run!
Our runner-up for this month is Agne Janusaityte at Winebuers, who was nominated by Software Developer Skills Coach, Kevin! With feedback provided by Agne’s line manager, Ben Read.
Agne’s Skills Coach:
Agne is a hard worker, she challenges herself, steps out of her comfort zone and has made excellent progress at work. She strives to do her best at work and delivers high-quality projects.
Agne’s line manager:
The work Agnes does day to day can be fast paced at times, and she has been crucial to the successful and smooth running of preparing and uploading an increasing number of suppliers to the platform each day. Since the development department decreased in numbers, Agnes has taken the increased workload in her stride and has been excellent at knowing when to seek assistance from other departments when prioritising tasks.
Her energy has been relentless and the commitment she puts into her work every day never ceases to amaze me.