Apprentice work-shadowing

Once again our apprentices led the way in developing new ways of learning skills and gaining experiences in the workplace. Read on to see how Teya and Jo broadened their horizons...

Teya (left) and Jo (right)

1. Who did you work shadow?
   Teya Agnese, Apprentice Clinical Trial Support Officer
2. Describe something new you learned from the day...
   The day was a useful experience on so many levels. It was fantastic meeting another University team and seeing how they work and it was so interesting to learn about Teya’s role and the systems she uses. One particular highlight for me was learning how to create a Macro on Excel and it is something that I have taken back to my own department to now implement.
3. What would you say was the biggest benefit of work shadowing?
   Teya and I have now both had a turn in leading the work shadowing and being the shadowee. The biggest benefit for me when I had Teya shadowing me was just realising throughout the day how much I have learnt during my role here at the OLI and how confident I have become in doing my job. As the shadowee, the biggest benefit was the opportunity to gain inspiration from another department and to see if there were things that I could take back to the admin team at the OLI to improve our own systems.
4. Any other comments from the day?
   It was a really enjoyable experience and has allowed me to gain a better understanding of the wider picture here at the University. 

We asked Teya...

1. Who did you work shadow? 
   Josephine Allen at the Oxford Learning Institute.
2. Describe something new you learned from the day...
   I learnt a lot about The Oxford Learning Institute and the process the team has to ensure that setting up the courses is easy and efficient. This included pre-event planning such as contacting speakers for the course and checking their availability, event organisation including setting up the room, printing handouts and ordering refreshments and lastly, what to do after the event has finished including circulating notes and collecting feedback. The skills I learnt were: project management, effective planning and the organisation of small and large-scale events.
   
   Another skill that I learnt was the analysing of a workplace calendar and finding a date when all speakers/ managers are free to run a course - this included scheduling, problem solving and diary management skills which I have incorporated in my current role.
3. What would you say was the biggest benefit of work shadowing? 
   It was fascinating for me to see how much I know about my role and about clinical trials. By teaching Jo, this enabled me to see how much I knew and I surprised myself – I knew more than I thought! Also, being able to work alongside another apprentice to see what they do on a day-to-day basis and watch how they and their team work together was really useful. From the experience I felt truly inspired, more confident and I took many useful tips on how I could advance my skills.
   
   
4. Any other comments from the day?
   I found work shadowing extremely useful and exciting! It tested my skills and made me think more about my role as an employee and as an apprentice. I feel I learnt a lot from the experience and look forward to being involved in more in the future. I highly recommend work shadowing to other apprentices!