National Apprenticeship Week: Izzy, Bid Executive

By Izzy Chantry, Bids Executive

​For this year’s National Apprenticeship Week, we’re returning to catch up with some of our apprentices who shared their stories last year, to find out how they’re getting on a year further into their journey. Today, Guidant Global’s very own Bid Executive, Izzy, brings us up to speed of the last 12-months.

Having come straight out from Sixth Form and into this role, I thought it was important to return to the basics.
I decided to take on this apprenticeship to develop my skills as a Bid Executive so I had a stronger knowledge of the theory behind best practices in bidding. I also wanted to be able to put my learnings into everyday practice and propose new processes, tools and resources to continually improve Guidant’s bidding process.

So far, the apprenticeship has enabled me to do just that. I am coming up to the end of my apprenticeship soon and am so glad I decided to take it.

Here’s a look at what my apprenticeship entailed.
My Bids apprenticeship is a two-year course. From the 18th month into the apprenticeship, I have the opportunity to be put forward for End Point Assessment (EPA). The EPA for my apprenticeship consists of:

• Reviewing my portfolio which includes 12-15 pieces of evidence produced as assignments throughout the apprenticeship

• A professional discussion including scenario and factual-based questions to determine the level of understanding

• A knowledge test including 6 questions comprising of 5 essay-style questions and 1 practical written assessment

Bearing in mind that us apprentices are working throughout the course, it is also designed to provide as much flexibility as possible around the EPA. So, while the course may be officially two years, we are actually given 6 months – between the 18th and 24th month – to decide when to start the EPA.

This flexibility has been really useful in relieving me of some of the apprenticeship pressures as I sometimes have to juggle several last-minute deadlines in my role.

The course trainers also take into consideration of the peaks and troughs of Request For Information (RFI) and offer alternatives to completing the assignments such as via a recorded professional discussion as opposed to an essay – which means it takes much less time to complete, but still plays a significant contribution towards the work required for our portfolios.

I started working from home full time in March 2020 due to COVID-19.
I’m still working from home to date and continue to use my Fridays to complete apprenticeship assignments and revise for my EPA. Before the pandemic, I used to always spend my dedicated apprenticeship days working from home so I can really focus on it with as little work distractions as possible.

So, not much has changed since working from home in terms of how it impacts my apprenticeship experience, but one thing that is different is that I now have more flexibility to switch around my dedicated apprenticeship day if needed, since I am now always working from home.

For example, if I have meetings and calls scheduled on Friday or have to work towards a deadline that is later in the week, I have better flexibility to change my schedule as I see fit.

Being able to change the days means I won’t ever miss my dedicated day for apprenticeship work every week, and it also means I won’t ever miss important calls or the bid deadline submissions.

Before COVID-19, my trainer would hold workshops in London every month for the South-East of England cohort on the apprenticeship.
When everyone started working from home due to COVID-19, the workshops were put on hold for a few months before being moved to Microsoft Teams. My trainer has tried to make it as interactive as possible by having split rooms for discussions and group-based tasks which has kept the workshop interesting and engaging.

As part of building up my skills for my EPA portfolio, the apprenticeship held three practical sessions where apprentices are grouped together to form a bids team to complete a bid. While these sessions were supposed to take place in person, it had to be held virtually instead.

The apprenticeship provider, JGA, partnered with Virbella to hold these sessions. The three days were really engaging and fun. It also allowed our trainer to observe and assess each apprentice and see how we applied our learnings from the workshop to reality.

We all received feedback from each session which was marked against the apprenticeship evaluation criteria. This was really useful in helping me identify gaps in my learning and enabled me to see where I could improve upon.

Luckily for me, the pandemic hasn’t really affected my apprenticeship experience.
It’s safe to say that I’ve really enjoyed the workshops and assessment sessions just as much as I would have in person. Admittedly, it was a bit strange at the start because it was a completely new way of learning which took some time to get used to.

For instance, finding the right time to ask questions while I was on a video call with 20 other course mates was challenging at the start, but I tried to remain as interactive as I would in person. Trainers also provided all the support required and made online learning as best as they possibly could.

Don’t let the lack of face-to-face engagement stop you from considering an apprenticeship.

The trainer will provide as much support throughout the course and will hold regular check-ups to ensure you are on track with assignments and to answer any questions you might have. Here are some other tips you could consider, getting you ahead of your apprenticeship:

• Stay organised
  Being organised and completing the assignments by the due date is key to ensuring tasks don’t pile up. It can be challenging juggling work with apprenticeship assignments and revision.
  Dedicate yourself to organise work around your assignments and stick to completing the work assigned in the same month – it will be much less stressful and much more manageable for you.

•  Catch up with your manager regularly
  Make sure you keep your manager in the loop with your apprenticeship and flag assignments that need to be in your portfolio. The more your manager understands how much work you have, the better as they can factor this in when assigning you to work-related tasks.

• The trainers are there to support you
  Make sure you are using the trainers' time to your full advantage. Ask any questions you might have, even if it's about the role you are in. Trainers have real-life experience in the role and will provide you with great advice on how to tackle any problems you might be facing. It sounds obvious but do leverage their experience to develop your career – they want to help!

• Show off your learnings and apply them to your role!
  Throughout my apprenticeship, I have learnt so many new processes and new resources that can be applied to ensure consistency throughout the proposal planning and development stages.
  I regularly discuss my learnings with my team and look for ways to implement these new practices into the Guidant bidding process. Not only does this give you evidence for your portfolio, but it will also impress your team and ensure your team is using bidding best practices.

In all, I’m so glad I did the apprenticeship.
Since starting the apprenticeship last year, I have massively developed within my role and improved my practical skills when collating a bid. The apprenticeship has enabled me to introduce new tools and resources to my team to improve our processes and ensure we are bidding to best practice.

I feel much more confident in my role at Guidant and am now heavily involved with building the RFIs and RFPs than I did before studying the apprenticeship.

We’re so proud of Izzy and her apprenticeship journey so far! Join #TeamGuidant and keep learning with us >