Case Study

TTMOBILES, based at Milton Park, provides mobile communications management solutions to clients across the country.

At present, five of its Service Centre Operatives (SCOs) are enrolled on the Level 1 Customer Service Apprenticeship, provided by Abingdon & Witney College.

The apprentices, Carrie Hopgood, Jay Bowden, Naomi Carter, Ben Taylor and Jake Allmond, are all employed as Service Centre Operatives at ttMobiles. They work on the customer helpdesk answering telephone calls and emails from clients and potential new clients. As such they are on the front line and the public face of ttMobiles.

Angela Hughes is their Team Leader. “The main driving forces in our company are quality of service and exceeding customer expectations. We regularly review the work of our SCOs to ensure they are meeting our standards for quality and customer satisfaction,” she explains.

“We have got quite a young team and for most of them this is their first job. They don’t come here with massive experience of customer service so it is something that I and the other team leaders have to develop and bring out in them. The Customer Service Apprenticeship is clearly an ideal vehicle to help us achieve that.”

Jake Allmond, aged 17, has been working at ttMobiles for almost a year, having decided that sixth-form was not for him.

“When the Apprenticeship was offered it was too good an opportunity to turn down. Every Thursday we go to the onsite college here at Milton Park for classroom-style teaching.

“Our assessor, Richard Harlowe, takes us through what is required for each unit of the NVQ. He is very approachable and friendly and explains things very clearly. We each get one-to-one support from him every step of the way. It is not at all like being back at school! We each have a portfolio of workplace evidence which backs up what we’ve been learning in the classroom. We are given a unit to complete and then, about a week-and-a-half later, Richard comes to visit us in the workplace to see how we are progressing.

“There is a whole year to complete the entire framework but some people are able to complete sooner depending on the pace they want to work at. It is very flexible within the one-year timeframe. If you miss a unit one week you just catch up with it later – no-one tells you off for not doing your homework!”Jake added. According to Jay Bowden, aged 22, one of the main bonuses of the Apprenticeship is that all the work is done in company time.

“It is not like having to study for a qualification in your own time at an evening class. Our employers are really generous and we are given plenty of time during our working week to complete our assignments.

Its hard work and not an easy thing to complete but it applies to our job role really well and therefore helps me do my job better.

“It’s a great thing to have on your C.V. too.

Having a qualification relevant to your work history will put you at an advantage when you are competing against others for jobs in the future. I really cannot see any reason why you would not want to do an Apprenticeship if your employer offered.”

Ben Taylor, aged 21, has also benefited CASE STUDY from what he’s learned so far on the course.

“Most of our contact with clients is by email or on the telephone, but occasionally we do get to meet certain clients face-toface.

I have started to learn about body language, making clients and yourself feel comfortable, and how the way you speak, and the way they react can affect the conversation,” he said.

“I find that now I am more prepared and feel a lot more comfortable speaking to others outside of the office, whether in a work context or just socially.”

Bernie McManus, HR manager, said: “As a company we pride ourselves on encouraging the professional development of our staff but there isn’t always a bottomless pot of money available to do that. Apprenticeships are a way of providing that training to our younger members of staff at no cost to the company, so it’s too good an opportunity to miss.

“I have done an NVQ myself so understand how they work. The great thing about these qualifications is that they are work based so they apply to what the apprentices are doing day-to-day. It is tangible to what they are actually doing in the job role. I would definitely roll this training programme out again in the future, and would recommend Apprenticeships to fellow employers.”

Abingdon and Witney College

At Abingdon and Witney College we have a dedicated employer engagement team, Advanced Business Solutions (ABS), based at Milton Park, Abingdon. In addition to supporting Apprenticeship frameworks, we are able to offer tailor-made short courses to suit your specific business needs, delivered either at Milton Park or in the workplace. If you have identified a skills gap in your workforce we can work together to design and plan a programme to meet your budget and business objectives.

We currently offer and support Apprenticeships in the following industries: Hairdressing; Catering; Construction; Health and Social Care; Horticulture; Accounting; Motor Vehicle; Customer Service; Business Administration; Engineering.

If you are an employer, do you have a vacancy for an employee with the skills and knowledge embedded in these qualifications? Why not pledge to take on an apprentice and be part of our ‘100 in 100’ campaign?

For further information please contact our employer engagement unit, Advanced Business Solutions, on 01235 861706, email abs@abingdonwitney.ac.uk or visit the website: www.abingdon-witney.ac.uk