May Apprentice of the Month
Carl Russell
We are happy to announce the winner of the LDN Apprentice of the Month is Salesforce Business Analyst Apprentice, Carl Russell @ Performa IT.
Nominated by LDN Skills Coach Hannah, Carl was described as innovative, conscientious and introspective.
Carl is making a real impact on the business by improving processes with innovation. Some of his most recent improvements include automating manual processes which have significantly reduced the time it takes to complete these tasks.
Check out Carl’s winning Apprentice of the Month nomination as well as all the other amazing nominations below.
Carl’s Skills Coach:
Carl began the apprenticeship with a fantastic attitude and with plenty of motivation. He has been very keen to be successful in his chosen path and has shown consistency in holding himself to account, especially when it comes to project work. He has asked for tight deadlines regarding project submissions and has successfully stuck to these. He always takes on feedback that he is given and asks questions to further his understanding. Carl is over halfway through his apprenticeship and I do not doubt that he will continue with this positive trajectory the closer he gets to Gateway.
Carl’s Line Manager:
How have they improved/impacted the business and the team since they started their apprenticeship?
Carl is a valuable asset to the team, driven by a thirst for knowledge which inspires those around him. He has gained several Salesforce certifications, which not only further his own abilities but also improve the company’s standing as a Salesforce partner.
Carl is always eager to offer assistance where he can, actively picking up support tickets to lighten his team’s workload. He has also assisted more junior team members, making himself available to answer any queries they may have.
Carl has proactively taken the lead on a large internal project to transform the resource management process - Carl was able to drive the project forward and gather requirements from key stakeholders, translating them into actionable tasks that could then be assigned to the wider team. This project will enable the business to more effectively manage resources, in turn saving money on company tooling.
What three words best describe them? (Please give an example/expand on each)
Innovative - Carl is a critical thinker, he constantly seeks to improve company processes by creating innovative solutions to complex problems. This has been demonstrated by the Python script he developed to streamline processes, along with the way he has taken the lead on the internal resource management project, offering new and creative ideas to improve the current process.
Carl really shines when it comes to critical thinking. He's always striving to make our company better by coming up with clever solutions to tough problems. You can see his dedication in the Python script he worked on, as well as in how he's taken the lead on our internal resource management project. He doesn't just suggest improvements to the user interface; he actually gets things done and makes sure our projects succeed.
Conscientious - Carl is well organised and has effective time management skills, one example of this is how he always ensures he is well prepared and has the relevant resources available before going into client demonstrations or requirements gathering meetings. Carl is always willing to go the extra mile, offering support and guidance to other team members and taking on additional work wherever possible to lighten the rest of the team’s workload.
Introspective - Carl actively seeks feedback regularly, keen to know how he can improve his work. He then implements this feedback to improve future work. When coming across new concepts and ideas, Carl is inquisitive, asking questions and seeking to understand.
An example of an outstanding piece of work, project or task they have worked on.
During his time as an apprentice within his current team, Carl has written a Python script that has enabled us to automate a manual process which would have otherwise taken the team a significant amount of time to complete. Through this innovation, Carl has demonstrated his ability to take initiative by taking on additional responsibilities, going above and beyond, without being asked to do so. Carl has since been able to adapt the Python script and abstract out the reusable parts which has the potential to save the company hundreds of hours in the future.
Our runner-up for this month is Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Apprentice, Zaynab! Zaynab was nominated by LDN Skills Coach, Geeta, with feedback provided by the team at Principal Cleaning.
Zaynab’s Skills Coach:
Zaynab was new to Principle Cleaning and new to CR&S, in the short time that she has worked at Principle Cleaning, she has demonstrated enthusiasm for learning and for doing her best in her role. When Zaynab first joined the cohort, she was quiet but always willing to work hard. Zaynab’s confidence has grown and she has proven herself to be a key member of the team at Principle Cleaning.
Zaynab has provided excellent evidence throughout the apprenticeship and has made active contributions to Live Sessions. Zaynab is on track with her learning and training plan, despite taking on additional work at Principle Cleaning. Zaynab took on extra work after losing a colleague and has also supported the transition of new staff members. Zaynab has maintained her focus and motivation to do her absolute best.
Zaynab’s line manager:
Zaynab's confidence has grown enormously since a year ago. She works independently and delivers high-quality work. Zaynab has been absolutely pivotal in streamlining our data collection and improving the overall quality of our data. She now produces monthly reports on how our carbon footprint is tracking which is essential for us to know as a business how we are performing. She has also been key in implementing and delivering the sustainability roadmap at one of our top landmark sites.
Here’s what was said about the other brilliant nominees:
Beth Henry @ Kent County Council:
Beth has only been doing the apprenticeship for 4 months but is already sharing her knowledge with the team when we have our meetings and the feedback that she has had on some of the projects she has worked on has been incredibly positive. Beth works with mainly social services subject matter experts, who have very different ideas and she is very good at adapting to meet their needs but keeping in mind the models and theories of learning that dictate the work she needs to do.
Rahath Ahmed @ London Borough of Harrow:
Rahath has had a significant impact on us as a council IT team by bringing fresh perspectives, new ideas, and a willingness to learn and adapt. Apprenticeships, such as those offered at Harrow Council provide a structured learning path with monthly workshops and on-the-job training, allowing apprentices to immediately apply their knowledge and improve their performance, Rahath has really grasped the apprenticeship learning process and turned in his work on time and with no fuss. He hasn’t faltered in his outputs despite us putting pressure on him at a time and has become a well-respected, polite and pleasant member of our team. Having Rahath on the team has improved our age diversity and contributed to our multi-faith and multi-national team mix.
Brett King @ Invdev Ltd:
At the interview, it was clear Brett needed to be given a chance to succeed and show his potential. He was tentative and perhaps uncomfortable with his ability to communicate. However, after joining and starting his LDN apprenticeship, his confidence grew steadily. He not only engaged senior leaders in the business but has also had to meet with and manage guest speakers and digital leaders for our events. His confidence has grown month on month. He is now seen as a valuable member of the marketing team, specifically excelling as a video marketer.
Elise Green @ Turner & Townsend:
Elise has become an invaluable asset to the corporate responsibility team. Her dedication and passion have resulted in a positive impact on our business and team culture. Elise has been instrumental in strengthening our impact on local communities. Taking on considerable responsibility to help organise volunteer events and establish new partnerships with charities. In addition, Elise has taken ownership of our corporate responsibility reporting process. Helping to collect data, analyse information and create comprehensive reports. She excels at building relationships, particularly with colleagues and is effective at promoting cross-functional collaboration. Without Elise in the team, our impact would be greatly diminished.
Josh Proctor @ E.ON:
Josh has had a significant impact within the team and the wider business as he's applied what he's learnt on the apprenticeship to everything he does. He's gone above and beyond to enhance all of our learning tools and improve the quality of our training material. Josh has worked on several projects, however his biggest project is our INK upskill. Which was a company-wide upskill for all customer service agents, roughly 3,000 employees. Josh worked with several stakeholders, project managers & change leads to bring the training together perfectly and he absolutely nailed it.