After completing her Level 2 Business Admin apprenticeship with MFRS, she was successful in gaining two part time roles within the service, equating to a full time role. As well as working as People & Organisational Development Assistant and People Services Administrator, Ally is now completing her Level 3 qualification.
Working as an apprentice at MFRS is great because you can get a qualification whilst earning money and learning new skills. One of the main skills I have developed throughout my apprenticeship is my confidence.
My role as a Recruitment and Development Apprentice doing Level 2 Business Admin was where I gained all of the skills I have today. I am currently completing my Level 3 alongside my job roles to gain another qualification. One of the main skills I have developed throughout my apprenticeship is my confidence. As I had no previous experience, I was very shy when communicating with people, especially on the phone. I thought that everybody was going to be listening to me and judging me but it was the complete opposite. My team were there to support me if I needed help and they knew that I needed to build my confidence so they pushed me to answer and make phone calls. My confidence has lead me to being able to run Firefighter Physical Assessments and Assessment Centres as the HR lead – in front of 6 to 14 candidates.
I opted for an apprenticeship because I didn't want to go to university and I thought this was a good way to enter full time work. University wasn't for me as there was nothing I was passionate about studying. Becoming an apprentice opened up so many opportunities.
When I say I work for MFRS I get such a great reaction from people. When a lot of people think of the fire service, they think firefighter, but there are so many other roles.