Stephens Scown has a diverse, dynamic apprentice recruitment scheme; in this article, Sarah Busby shares her experiences as an HR Apprentice.
I joined Stephens Scown as a Human Resources Apprentice in 2019, and this has been my first time working in the legal industry previously having worked in banking.
Human Resources is a really important part of any business, as we look after our people and their day-to-day queries This can range from recruitment to reward, and wellbeing to training & development. Being involved in these different tasks is not only a valuable learning experience but also enjoyable in gaining new skills.
With a wide range of reasons why I decided to join the HR team as an apprentice; read on to find out more.
The bridge between knowledge and experience
Like many other school students, my only goal after getting my A-levels was to go to university, as this is generally seen as the next step in preparing for your future career. At that time, I didn’t know much about apprenticeships and they weren’t generally discussed as much as university in school ‘future careers’ assemblies.
I studied International Business at university, which had a generalised syllabus so I learnt a little bit about everything, not specialising in a particular field. While it’s great to have a good general understanding of different business sectors when I graduated I struggled with which direction I wanted to go in with my career, and I lacked any solid industry experience as I used my year out to study abroad.
One of the reasons that an apprenticeship with Stephens Scown interested me was because it would let me bridge the gap between my knowledge from university and the experience that I needed for a good career.
Another important reason is that I now have the opportunity to go to college once a week, where I am working towards an HR specific qualification. This allows me to see first hand how knowledge and theories are actually used in a day-to-day business environment. From learning about collecting HR-related data and reward management techniques, I can go into work the next day and write a report based on what I’ve learned at college, which is a great way of putting theory into practice.
Becoming an HR Apprentice at Stephens Scown means that I receive the support and training needed to build up the practical skills required for working within an HR department. This has allowed me to feel more comfortable with taking on a new role in a new industry as well as giving me time to develop and learn new skills!
Putting my new skills to good use
As an apprentice, one of my main duties is to focus on the induction process which includes sending out welcome letters and documentation, requesting and receiving references, creating induction plans and organising paperwork for the new joiners’ first day.
Stephens Scown is a proactive employer when it comes to training and development. I see this apprenticeship as a start to hopefully a long career within HR.
Apprentices like me are given the motivation and drive to become the best professionals that we can be. Within a short space of time, I have gone from worrying about my future job prospects to welcoming other new joiners to the firm, helping them to start on their new career paths just like I have.