National Apprenticeship Week 2023: Celebrating apprentice managers

Today, as part of National Apprenticeship Week, we’ve spoken to managers at Specsavers who have people studying for an apprenticeship in their team. That doesn’t always mean someone who has recently left school, because apprenticeship can be a fantastic way for people to upskill on the job. Have a read and see what our managers had to say:

Ella Everett – Financial Shared Services Accounts Payable Manager, Transactions

Following one apprentice recently moving out of Accounts Payable to backfill a role in Accounts Receivable ahead of her scheduled rotation I currently have one administrator apprentice studying their AAT qualification and one Team Leader who requested to study after being in the team for a couple of years now studying the ACCA qualification.

Having the apprentices in the team is great for the individual’s development. AP being the entry point for finance is good for them to see and understand from the beginning then start to build knowledge from this base alongside their learning. In the past we’ve had many students start out with us and move on to develop in new finance roles at Specsavers which we find not only supports the apprentice and the hiring team but also helps build on relationships across the business and leads to a better understanding of each other’s roles.

Natalie Kiggins – Financial Shared Services Accounts Receivable Manager, Transactions

I feel managing apprentices is very rewarding and enjoyable. It allows us a great opportunity to watch someone grow and develop their skills/knowledge within the Specsavers business. I enjoy being able to support them in progressing their career and working towards a qualification.

My experience with apprentices, is they have always been extremely motivated and willing to learn. Some having started at Specsavers in their first proper job, are always keen to work hard and pick up new skills. This helps the team as when training, they tend to pick up new tasks quickly, and efficiently. Having motivated apprentices with a good educational background, positive attitude, has a beneficial effect on the rest of the team, and business. Also, as they develop you can get an idea of their skills/interests; which helps have discussions around career progressions/future plans.

Claire Foote – Resourcing Manager

It’s great to be supporting an apprenticeship, firstly, it’s wonderful to see someone learning more about a topic that excites them and secondly it builds capability in my team and the wider business for the future… so everyone wins!

To learn more about Specsavers’ apprenticeship offerings visit our apprenticeships page on the careers website.