October Apprentice of the Month - Esmeralda Harcourt
We are happy to announce that the winner of the LDN Apprentice of the Month is Digital Marketing Apprentice, Esmeralda Harcourt @ Caters Media Group!
Esmeralda is part of the first cohort in our collaboration with the BBC’s Apprentice Hub and is already making excellent progress with her Level 3 Digital Marketing Apprenticeship, passing her Principles of Coding exam on the first attempt!
Check out Esmeralda's winning Apprentice of the Month nomination from her LDN Skills Coach and Line Manager along with our other fantastic nominations below!
Esmeralda’s Skills Coach:
Before today, I initially nominated Esme for her attitude to pretty much everything. She is keen, driven, and far too modest with how intelligent she is and always looking to achieve more and drive herself forwards.
Since she joined the apprenticeship with Caters News under the BBC Flexi-apprenticeship, she just continues to grow in confidence.
Her line manager and the BBC are so eager to tell me about how well she is doing at every coaching session (I already know, I can see her progress) but I initially felt she deserves the award because of that alone.
Alongside that, she has taken on the role of our new Digital Marketer LDN Class Rep as she wants to support those around her (and me) - and what a role model she will be for that!
To top it off, she completed her first knowledge module, Principles of Coding, 1 month ahead of schedule and smashed a 20/20 - 100% mark - I genuinely do not know what more she could do to be deserving of this award!
Esmeralda’s Line Manager:
Energy:
Esme is a breath of fresh air, she is so happy and positive everyday and it is clear she takes pride in her work and completes every task to the best of her ability. No task is ever too much for her, she never complains, she’s a hugely popular member of the team and a pleasure to work with.
Enthusiasm:
Esme is so enthusiastic and passionate about what she does, not only does she complete and excel and deliver on every task set, but she also continually goes out of her way to think of ways to improve on tasks she’s already completely. For instance, we asked Esme to re-design our daily newsletter templates to make them more engaging, she did this in her first few weeks with us and she made such great improvements, we considered it a job well done.
Esme’s enthusiasm is not just noted by me, but our company directors keep commenting on the great work she is doing. Aside from her work here I know she’s smashing her coursework and is already much further ahead than she needs to be and is volunteering for additional things with LDN.
Not only that but she stood up on stage at the recent BBC event to discuss her experience on the apprenticeship in front of a packed auditorium, I know she was nervous but she pushed herself out of her comfort zone and came across brilliantly. Esme couldn’t be embracing this apprenticeship with any more enthusiasm if she tried, I’m super proud of her.
Willingness To Learn:
It goes without saying that Esme loves to learn! For example, we showed her how to use our CRM to create newsletters and taught her how to use it. Esme has gone away and done further tutorials and discovered and is utilising functionality to its full potential.
Ability To Take Feedback:
I quickly learned that Esme is not only able to take feedback, but she asks for it, she wants honest reviews of her work so she can review, tweak and improve. If you tell Esme you don’t like a design or you’re unsure about it, she takes it in her stride, she goes away, and comes back with an even better design having taken all your comments on board.
Propensity To Take Action:
Esme’s ability to pivot, prioritise and complete tasks and meet deadlines with such ease is one of her strongest assets.
The nominations we received this month were so fantastic we couldn’t just pick one runner-up for this month, we have two!
Our first runner-up is lvl 3 ICT Apprentice Zen Bhatti @ Pension Services Corporation! Zen was nominated by his LDN Skills Coach, Aziz, with feedback provided by his line manager Sophia.
Zen’s Skills Coach:
Zen has just volunteered to be our programme’s Class Rep! Despite being extremely busy at work, he has been receiving excellent feedback from his Line manager and the IT team at PIC. Everyone gets surprised when they hear that he is still an apprentice.
When Zen attends live sessions he contributes positively to the discussions, and he asks good and relevant questions when he needs help. His technical support skills are very good as well as his ability to write excellent reports and take initiative.
Zen’s line manager:
Zen has learned a lot since he has started with us. He always takes an active interest in the Service Desk tickets, helping without needing to be asked, has been an asset to the team.
Zen has collaborated with colleagues across the business to deliver work and solve problems… He was mistaken for being in a more senior by another department, due to his rapid response and delivery of quick results on business requests and I have received positive feedback from the team.
Our next runner-up is lvl 3 Business Administrator apprentice Efua Owusu-Boakye @ Teach First! Efua was nominated by her LDN Skills Coach, Geeta, with feedback provided by her line manager Sarah.
Efua’s Skills Coach:
My reason for nominating Efua is that I have seen Efua really come out of her shell since starting her apprenticeship journey.
Efua shows a willingness to learn and has developed skills in being able to take and welcome feedback and use this to continuously improve. Efua is working on various projects at Teach First and is making her presence felt across the team.
I am excited to see Efua’s long term progression. Efua is also now doing brilliantly with her apprenticeship work and well on her way to a timely completion
Efua’s line manager:
Efua has recently brought energy to her role as Major Gifts Co-ordinator by taking on the role of Chair in several team meetings, and even Chairing a department-wide meeting. She is improving her confidence in asking questions during meetings and taking ownership for the smooth running of meetings.
Efua has shown enthusiasm in the organisation of an upcoming event for her team. Contributing new ideas for the event’s content and format, she has demonstrated a keen interest in learning more about event planning, and what makes an engaging fundraising event.
Here’s what was said about the other fantastic nominees:
Alex Barnes @ Pension Insurance Services:
Alex has joined the team at an incredibly busy time and he has shown the ability to hit the ground running. Alex may be naturally introverted but he has not let that get in the way of asking questions or being inquisitive about the work and will never complain about tasks given to him.
He really has shown to be a team player, with everyone on the team building good working relationships with him.
Ellie Gorringe @ 3Keel:
Ellie always brings great energy to life and work at 3Keel, whether present remotely or in person. She has contributed greatly to a number of different projects, both client-facing and internally within 3Keel.
She has also been a great advocate for choosing an apprenticeship as an alternative to university studies and has contributed towards our decision to seek to employ another apprentice at 3Keel.
All in all, it's a pleasure to work with Ellie and I think she definitely deserves this award!
Serhat Kara @ Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan:
Coming from very different working background, technology in general is new to Serhat. From learning mobile device remote management, to getting an understanding of computer network, Serhat has shown keen interest and willingness to enable himself to be more independent with helping out users.
Aki Gurung @ Tate Enterprises:
It’s difficult to believe that Aki has only been with Tate Publishing for six months. She made an immediate impact, getting to know not only the team but Tate itself in a short space of time, and participating in all relevant department activities (from weekly meetings to site visits) from day one.
The pandemic has had a profound impact on Tate, as it has for cultural institutions across the country, and Aki’s energy and passion have been invaluable in helping Tate Publishing to recover and seize the opportunities we now have.