January Apprentice of the Month - Felipe Ochoa Diaz
We are happy to announce that the winner of the LDN Apprentice of the Month is Felipe @ Pracedo!
Nominated by LDN Skills Coach, James Hunter - Felipe is the first winner of Apprentice of the Month award for 2022!
We received an absolutely incredible and unique nomination from the team at Pracedo which we've displayed in all its original glory outside of our usual nomination format below!
Felipe’s Skills Coach:
Despite overcoming various challenges during his apprenticeship, Felipe amazes me and inspires me with his passion and commitment to do well. He is always professional and calm, not to mention very good at Salesforce!
Felipe’s Team:
Felipe’s Mentor & LDN Salesforce Consultant Apprentice, Olivia Schneegass-Wilson
Energy:
Felipe shows energy in all aspects of working life. He throws himself into customer projects, always on the hunt for the best solution. When he is unclear on something, he will first go away and independently research it, and then reach out for help with solutions, not problems, to his peers. He is chatty and engaging when calling clients, whilst still focussing on the issue on hand. Felipe also shows energy by studying for certifications after work in order to advance his skills and become an even greater asset to the company.
Enthusiasm:
Felipe has so much enthusiasm. One of the ways he shows this is by reaching out to learn from his colleagues. If something is too technical for his level, instead of just passing it on to a more senior colleague, he asks that colleague to teach him how to do it for future reference. Because of this, Felipe’s technical progress has grown significantly, creating complex flows and undertaking tricky data migration exercises. Felipe has clear goals and works hard to achieve them.
Willingness To Learn:
Felipe really embodies this element of EEWAP. From day one, Felipe immersed himself in projects. His first project was a very niche area of Salesforce, which would have posed additional challenges to the ones already accompanying being an apprentice, but he took this in his stride and used it as an opportunity to learn. He gained his Admin certification very quickly and is already preparing to take two more. Any new product thrown at him, Felipe tackles with enthusiasm. If he doesn’t understand something, he goes away and studies it in his spare time, coming back with the knowledge to share with the team.
Ability To Take Feedback:
The ability to take feedback is a skill that is not recognised enough. This is, however, a skill Felipe performs very well. During his first time creating user stories (a way of recording customer requirements), the customer pointed out some issues and gave the team a lot of feedback. Instead of letting this get him down, Felipe took this as an opportunity to grow and learn more. He understood the feedback and worked on the user stories, with newfound motivation, and presented the second version back to the customer. The customer saw how much feedback had been taken on board and was much happier, approving the user stories for sign-off. It is easy to become defensive and frustrated when faced with negative feedback, but Felipe used it as an opportunity to improve.
Propensity To Take Action:
In the first few months of your apprenticeship, it is natural to want to ease yourself into your new job as everything can become very overwhelming. Felipe did the exact opposite of this - from day one he was putting his hand up to participate in anything and everything he could, and this has really paid off.
His rate of growth has been super fast, he has gone from being a novice, never even heard of Salesforce before, to speak to customers one-on-one, assisting them, and providing solutions. He takes ownership of important tasks like leading UAT, or quality assurance, without even being asked. If he does find himself with spare time, he is the first to raise this and ask for more to do. If you are placed on a project with Felipe, you know that you will have his full support.
Example of an outstanding piece of work:
When Felipe first joined, he was put on a project which involved a very niche, complex area of Salesforce that no one had much experience with. Being an apprentice is daunting anyway, but the added complexity of this product would have posed additional challenges. However, as always, Felipe took this in his stride and used it as a learning opportunity and a chance to become a subject matter expert in this area. Within a few short weeks, he was speaking to the client with such clarity and such confidence that you would never have assumed he was an apprentice. He was leading calls and demonstrations, gave some excellent training, and was a really valuable member of the team. This customer gave us a five-star review once the project was completed and cited the main reason was the ‘dedicated and knowledgeable team, who are a pleasure to work with’.
This experience sums up Felipe’s mentality towards challenges. His hard work and dedication pay off, he became certified in a very short amount of time and is already looking to take further exams. His positive attitude is infectious and he is always actively offering his help. Felipe rarely needs to be asked to do things, he just proactively does them, and to a very high standard. He puts himself forward for any opportunity and has already worked across multiple products. And best of all, Felipe does all of the above with a smile.
Our runner-up for this month is former LDN Trainee and current Business Admin apprentice at Faber & Faber, Lili Wilson!
Lili’s Skills Coach:
Lili has continued to impress her manager and mentor in her workplace, as well as always participating fully in the Coaching and Live Sessions. Lili is always trying to challenge herself, in particular, her self-confidence where she strives to take herself ‘out of her comfort zone’. This was fully exemplified by the amazingly engaging, insightful, and very personal presentation she delivered to her peers at the last Live Session, which was highly received by those on the call. Lili’s coursework is extremely detailed, comprehensive, and highly considered, leading to some excellent material so far. Lili is proving to be an indispensable asset to Faber and Faber too according to her manager, Judith, where she proves herself to be highly valuable time and again.
Lili’s line manager:
Lili's enthusiasm to do well in the role and for the business is infectious and inspires everyone to work a bit harder to make the business a success. She very quickly understood the tone and core values of the business and brings that to her daily work making her a supportive and reliable colleague which is priceless in a small team dealing with a large volume of work. It is obvious that Lili is keen to learn all she can about publishing and has already signed up to be on Faber's Environmental team, she is learning how to process Faber audio titles now as well as ebooks and is always keen to join company meetings, presentations and department meetings. It's always refreshing to meet with Lili and be buoyed up by her enthusiasm.
Here’s what was said about the other nominations:
Noelle Wu @ Stemettes:
Noelle always brings the energy to any task or meeting she is in, the entire company loves working with Noelle. She comes prepped and ready for any task or meeting that comes her way, with great ideas and well thought out processes to not only improve her work but the work of others on the team too. Every team meeting she always comes with great ideas and always leaves us with a good laugh as well. Her energy has never stopped even when she has a lot of tasks on her plate, she has been a fantastic addition to our Content Team.
Hannah Boyle @ Pearson:
Hannah has brought fresh energy to our team and is always keen and willing to take on whatever we ask her to, often at short notice. She has shown an ability to juggle two busy projects as well as her apprenticeship work and does it all with a smile! She has very quickly become a valued and popular member of the team both in terms of work and socially and is well-liked!
Nayima Ali @ Quarto:
Nayima seems to have boundless energy! This has served her well as her role involves working for a number of different people at the same time and responding quickly to changing priorities and deadlines. Our Group Publisher Richard Green praised Nayima for her “relentless efficiency” in everything she approaches; whether she is being asked to send out copies of books to the press, process invoices, write cover copy, check proofs or manage photo shoots, Nayima responds with eagerness and completes everything to an extremely high standard.