Over the past 2 years I have been completing my Level 3 Laboratory Technician Apprenticeship at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology. 

My role as a services technician includes a wide range of tasks such as making agar plates and media, mycoplasma testing, washing glassware, helping in stores with accepting deliveries, and then phoning the relevant group to collect the packages. During my Apprenticeship I also had opportunities to spend time in different areas of the department including the electron microscope facility, flow cytometry facility and one of the labs in my department which is led by Jordan Raff. I feel so privileged to have been given the opportunity to explore these areas in my department as well as doing my day to day role. 

Natalie Davis, Apprentice Laboratory Technician

Finishing my Apprenticeship... 

It feels so strange to be writing about finishing my Apprenticeship, the past 2 years have gone by so quickly! The Apprenticeship that I completed had two separate grades to it, one of which is the BTEC level 3 in Applied Science in which I got a D*D* (distinction *). Then the overall Apprenticeship grade which was from my end point assessment (EPA) . For me this involved a whole day of being assessed which was an observation of me working and carrying out different tasks, a professional discussion and then a case study test to apply my knowledge. At the end of this day I was very happy with how it went and I was very glad when I found out I had passed overall.

How do I feel now I have finished? 

What I am doing now.... 

I am very lucky in the fact I have been able to keep my same job. The wait to find out whether I was keeping my job seemed like a very long time due to the current pandemic situation but I was very relieved and happy when I found out I had my job still. This has been such a positive end to my Apprenticeship and I am very grateful to still be working here. 

Is there any differences to my job now? 

Well the  obvious difference is that I have a different title which is now ‘Teaching and Services Technician’. Another difference is that I am now part of the Athena SWAN committee in my department, representing the professional support staff. Otherwise my job is exactly the same, just with the added bonus of a pay increase. 

4 years ago when I was in the last year of my A Levels and making that decision whether to go to university, I  never would have dreamed of working at Oxford University. Yet here I am those few years later having completed my Apprenticeship and have a full time job - all at a place I never would have imagined working. 

Read Natalie's case study on our website!

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!