Samantha- Procurement Apprentice

Hi, I'm Samantha and I work at Tameside Council as a Procurement Apprentice. I am doing a Level 2 Diploma in Business and Administration. My day-to-day jobs include maintaining the corporate contracts register, creating new suppliers/contracts/products in Agresso and helping users with any issues they are facing when using Agresso.

I deferred my place at University as I didn't want to rush back into education for another 3 years. Tameside Council is a great organisation to work for and there was an advertisement for an apprenticeship in the audit department. I came a close second to this apprenticeship but another department (procurement) was looking for an apprenticeship so they asked me.

My favourite part of my course is meeting other apprentices who are doing the same qualification as me and knowing that you are a valid member of a team and having your own tasks/workload to do on a day-to-day basis. I am glad I chose an apprenticeship because I can earn money and get experience in a real job but also get a qualification at the same time. 

My advice to anyone looking to become an apprentice would be, to begin with it will be hard settling into your job and getting into a routine but it does become easier and you will gain a qualification and experience which is important when applying for jobs now, as well as being paid at the same time. Also, do not be afraid to ask for help because your team are there to help you learn and improve your skills. For anyone who doesn't want to go to University an apprenticeship is a great option.

Samantha’s manager said “Since Sam joined the team she has become a key member of the team and quickly became a valuable asset to us. She is extremely helpful and we receive lots of positive feedback from internal customers on how polite and helpful she is when dealing with their queries. It is lovely to have her as part of our team!”