"We’ve had all of the training via MS Teams due to the COVID 19 pandemic but the course was still delivered excellently. The weekly application reports were a real help to instil the learning and put the tools we have learned into practice. Actually having all content online meant the group could email easily to support each other.
The course has given me lots of tools and techniques to help my own leadership and benefit that of my team. I was using some of the tools already but I learned more about how best to use them and what other options were available depending on the scenario. I really enjoyed doing the course as a group and learning from the other delegates. Our group consisted of all Cefas colleagues and it was interesting to hear about the different examples from the same work environment. The specific tool I found interesting was the Insights discovery profile and learning about how to communicate and work with people of other ‘colours’. During the apprenticeship, I was promoted to Group Manager (managing three teams, 28 people) and believe the apprenticeship helped me achieve this as I was able to communicate clearly how I was going to develop and implement a group plan, as well as how to get the most of team members.
Our course leader, Elliott, is a great tutor- he uses is own experiences to help put the learning into context and provides advice for ‘real life examples’ and is great at remembering to ask how these went. He uses jokes and light-hearted approaches to encourage members to contribute but sets out the objectives and criteria clearly, and provides useful feedback."
"I am currently a Team Leader in a team of fish stock assessors; all but one are more senior to me in terms of pay band! Until I enrolled on the Leadership and Management Apprenticeship, I felt a little apprehensive of being a Team Leader unless I thought I could be a genuine benefit to the team’s staff. But, I soon realised that the course provides a suite of tools to allow anyone to become a beneficial and effective manager to any team, regardless of the scope of their work and its staff. To me, one of the most important things I learnt was the various time management techniques.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are not simply working at home; we are working at home, during a crisis, trying to work. I think it’s more important than ever to understand how to work smarter and not harder and I have enjoyed teaching these techniques to various staff throughout Cefas. Further, these techniques have allowed me to spend more time focussing on my PDP – something I’d always neglected in the past. And, for the first time ever, I set challenging yet SMART PDP objectives which I met by the end of the financial year.
The course has been intensive, but fun. Learning alongside like-minded peers and through training from such an engaging and enthusiastic teachers, support has always been readily available. I really do think the course should be a prerequisite to anyone wishing to take on a managerial role; what you learn throughout the course is invaluable for being a good manager who can manage well."
"I loved the course and the subjects, the teachers and the resources at Jarrold training were amazing, if I wanted help you were always there. The classroom days where highly enjoyable which is saying something because I hated school!! You treated us all fairly and despite my difficulties with my dyslexia, I never felt awkward or embarrassed like I did when I was at school, in fact I always felt I could be myself and be honest when I needed help. The sessions where so well-tailored for us as students which was amazing, everyone at Jarrold training is amazing and helpful! Ellie and Elliot are an amazing teaching duo and I loved being their student!"
"I have tried to use everything that we have studied in work and this has improved my relationship with my teams and helped me to define the correct working practices for me to succeed at work. I have mostly benefited from the work we did on leadership styles, helping me to be the leader my team needs"
"The training programme was very in depth but really made me step back and analyse on how my performance can and will help my overall teams’ performance"
"The classroom days were awesome. The trainers are so passionate, and I felt very comfortable to take part in all sessions. The support was always there at the end of the telephone or email and nothing was ever a “stupid” question"
"The support given from Ellie and Elliot is beyond what I have received in my previous apprenticeship, it is a breath of fresh air to know that they are both there to support and help me when needed"
"The training has helped with tricky situations, such as performance management and has provided me with the knowledge of different models I could use, whereas before I may have struggled to know what to do"