After completing a BTEC in business, Caitlin Causer decided to take up the opportunity to continue her education whilst gaining valuable experience working as an apprentice at City College Plymouth.
For Caitlin, school wasn’t the ideal learning environment, and after having a baby at the age of 16, she left with few qualifications; however, with a child to support, Caitlin was more determined than ever to get the right training and qualifications to set her on course for a stable career with plenty of opportunities.
Having worked extremely hard to complete the level 1, 2 and 3 diplomas in business, Caitlin was informed about an Apprenticeship with the College’s Admin Hub, which felt like the ideal fit for Caitlin who knew she wanted to pursue a career in administration, but loved being in an education environment.
Caitlin explained: “After completing my business qualifications, I found that my lack of experience was making it difficult to find a job, but then the Apprenticeship opportunity arose and I jumped at the prospect of being able to continue learning whilst also earning money to support myself and my son.
“I had a fantastic experience at the College. I worked within a really supportive team and I learnt a huge amount from my mentor. The opportunity to learn and get experience was the perfect package, and it was great for building my confidence, and was superb for my own personal development.”
Since completing the Level 3 Apprenticeship in Business Administration, Caitlin has been working at a local secondary school, where she is now in a management role.
“I have decided to continue with my studies and I’m currently doing a level 4 qualification, which is designed to give more in-depth knowledge into the theoretical aspects of management, whilst also developing skills in leadership, budget management and can lead to more specialist areas.”
For Caitlin, the transition from her Apprenticeship to her role at the school was incredibly easy thanks to the skills she had picked up working within the Admin Hub, and gave her the foundations she needed to progress into management.
“I didn’t have the best experience at school, but now I have found a learning style that suits me, I can’t imagine not being involved with some form of learning. I’m really keen to continue with my studies and go as far as I can, as I believe it’s not only good for me, but is a good example for my children and I hope they will also find a love of learning like I have.”
