Last year, with support from the Department for Work and Pensions Kickstart scheme and West Cheshire & North Wales Chamber of Commerce, we offered a 6-Month work placement to Miya Spence who joined us as an Administration Assistant. The Kickstart scheme is an incentive from the DWP to help secure high quality job placements for young people throughout the UK and progress them into employment.

Miya had a background in Beauty after studying this at college and she then went on become self-employed offering beauty treatments for 6 years. Miya opened a small shop in Chester in 2018 however once the pandemic hit, she unfortunately had to close her business and decided to retrain and acquire new skills. Miya spent some time looking for work and opportunities and after completing a short course with Code Nation, was offered her Kickstart placement.

She joined Code Nation in June 2021 and worked with multiple departments to get a real taste of different working environments. After 6 months of hard work and dedication, Miya applied for and secured a permanent position. We are pleased to announce that Miya is now completing her Level 3 Business Administration Apprenticeship and is working full time with our Compliance team as a Data Inputter!

Kim Jackson, Head of Compliance and Miya's manager said:

Miya is a great addition to the compliance team, she has adapted very quickly to the role and is growing her own skills daily. When I first met Miya her words were " I don't get compliance I just don't" she struggled to understand why we audit and check if we have an idea something is going to be wrong. Fast forward 6 months and here she is working in compliance. I am confident that Miya will work hard within her Apprenticeship and be determined to receive a high grade.

We chatted with Miya to find out more about her experience during her placement and what lies ahead.

What made you apply for the placement?

After being unemployed for around a year, I began a coding course with Code Nation which I really enjoyed. After I completed this, a role came up as an admin assistant with a 6- month placement on the Kickstart scheme so I decided to apply.

What types of things did you do during your placement?

I worked with a variety of people during my placement and spent a lot of time working closely with the Head of Compliance. I had quite a varied role and completed things such as taking minutes of meetings, creating registers, making enrolment forms and developing my IT skills.

What did you enjoy most about your placement?

I loved the Friday quizzes at Code Nation and work wise, I really enjoyed working with PICS to create learner profiles and manage their documents.

What have you learnt during your placement?

My confidence has increased a lot because before, I wasn’t really used to working with anyone but myself. I didn’t know how to use Excel before this placement or Microsoft teams, there were lots of different apps that I hadn’t used before, so I have picked up loads of new skills.

You are now working full time as a BA apprentice, how are you finding your new role?

It’s going really well, I have only just started but I am finally on track and starting my career, I do not have any A-Levels so getting a level 3 qualification in business along with my Apprenticeship will be good for me moving forward. I feel like it has opened a lot of doors and improved my quality of life since the pandemic.

What’s next for you, what are your future goals and aspirations?

I want to focus on where I am. Now in the compliance and business admin world. I want to get better at that and learn everything I can about the industry and work my way up. I feel like I am on a set career path now rather than before I didn’t really know what I was doing and had no idea where I was going to go or what direction.

What advice would you give someone who doesn’t yet have a set career path?

I’d probably tell them to try going on a short course or something similar like I did with coding. Just to ease yourself back into the world of work, office work and working with other people. Try to find something small that you think you would enjoy and try to make something out of it.

Miya is a fantastic member of the Code Nation team and has added real value during her placement. We are really looking forward to supporting her to continue to develop her skills and progress in her new role.

If you want to find out more about our short courses or apprenticeship opportunities, speak with us today.

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