Leo joined Aptus in 2023 on a Business Administration Apprenticeship through Wigan & Leigh College. He is completing his apprenticeship at Aptus head office where his role involves supporting the estimation team with the tendering process, whilst working towards his NVQ Level 3 Business Administration qualification.
Leo says he chose the apprenticeship route because the on-the-job training offers a practical approach, which is better suited to his learning requirements. We caught up with Leo to find out more about his apprenticeship.
I found out about Aptus through Wigan & Leigh College and chose to do the apprenticeship because Aptus are well-established within the industry and offer employees new ways to improve and develop both within the workplace and outside of it.
I’m training to be an estimator so my current responsibilities include compiling tender information from our clients once a new enquiry has been submitted and seeing through the full enquiry, including formalising full tender documents, up to the point of the contract award.
I’m enjoying being given the opportunity to learn my role thoroughly, as part of a strong team who are always available to help and support me when needed. My duties at Aptus tie in perfectly with my apprenticeship as I am always dealing with the needs of external stakeholders and learning how they can be met by us at Aptus – this will assist in gaining my apprenticeship qualification.
I find working on an apprenticeship greatly helps with my time management skills and how I organise different workloads.
My main focus is to be as successful as possible in the workplace and help with any work queries from my colleagues. Hopefully one day I’ll have the title Lead Estimator next to my name. Ideally, one day I would like to start my own business!
It has opened up different career options that I didn’t even realise would be possible to achieve; this is due to the variety of topics my business apprenticeship covers and the number of transferrable skills I learn whilst working towards my qualification.
I would like to become mental health first-aid trained as I feel the topic of mental health within the construction industry isn’t focused on enough and many feel lost when it comes to seeking help.
I have seen in the past some apprenticeship providers will use an apprentice for cheaper labour. However, with the right company and support system, being on an apprenticeship opens up the possibility to never stop succeeding at work.
100% as I believe there aren’t really any other pathways that enable you to gain such an in-depth knowledge of your job role whilst also being able to earn a bit of money – going to college or university wouldn’t open up the same opportunities as my apprenticeship has.
