Where did you first hear about Orbit?
I first heard about Orbit from a friend who had come across the job advert online, she suggested I applied for it and the rest is history.
What is it about Orbit that made you want to apply for the role?
I felt as though Orbit was a really inclusive place to work and from previously doing work experience with Orbit I knew that everyone was really kind and always open to helping you which for me was a real plus about Orbit. I also liked that Orbit had a high retention rate after the program had finished which gave me hope that I would also be offered a permanent role once I had finished my qualification. Orbit also have an agile working policy which allows you to be more flexible with your hours on a day to day basis as well as being able to work from home which for me showed that as an organisation they cared about their staff and their wellbeing.
What do you enjoy the most about working for Orbit?
Personally, I enjoy being able to work on a variety of different projects both through my job role as well as my apprenticeship. Alongside this I have been able to meet lots of new people from all different areas of the business whilst working on developing my skill set.
Insight into some of the work produced whilst you have been on the Apprenticeship programme to date?
Since starting my apprenticeship I have been provided with lots of opportunities to work on a variety of different projects focused around both my job role as well as my apprenticeship.
One of the main highlights for me was working on the innovation group project set by our CEO Mark Hoyland. As part of this myself and the rest of the cohort of graduates and apprentices were asked to research innovation within Orbit and look at ways we could encourage innovation in everyday work life for staff members. As part of this I oversaw organising a survey which our fellow colleagues from all different areas of the business were asked to part take in. To achieve this, I worked with the cohort to establish the questions we wanted to ask and then created the survey, then to go alongside this and ensure we achieved maximum engagement I created a comms plan which enabled us to reach as many different colleagues as possible. Overall, the survey was a great success and provided key statistics throughout our project to help back up our claims. Then as a cohort we were asked to present our finding to our CEO and executive team, and from this we were asked to implement all our recommendations.
Alongside the innovation project I have also been asked to work on many different projects more specifically around my job role. One task in particularly that stands out was creating what I called a ‘Jargon Buster’. When I first started my role I quickly realised that other parts of the business often struggled to understand commonly used environmental words and I wanted to ensure that staff member had a clearer understanding of what there words meant, this is when the idea for the jargon buster was created. I approached my manger and asked whether they thought it would be beneficial for me to produce something like this for the organisation. From this I then created a jargon buster that included all of the commonly miss understood words along with a simple definition. When published it received really positive feedback and has allowed my colleagues to have a better understanding of the environmental jargon we often use. Going forward we have even discussed making it available for customers so that it they can also get a better understanding if they wish to.
Tell us about your Apprenticeship qualification which you are undertaking (what it is and who you are studying with)
Currently I am on the 18-month L3 Business Admin course which is run by Chamber Training in Coventry. So far, they have provided me with all the help and support I need to be able to progress through my qualification with ease, and I am on track to achieve a good grade.
Where do you see your longer-term career?
In the near future I plan to hopefully stay on with Orbit in a permanent environmental role, however I would like to continue learning about the environment so that in the future I can progress onto a role which has a really positive impact on that particular organisation.
Any recommendations for any future Apprentices coming into business?
Always ask questions, that way you can learn so much more about your business area/ those around you and it will really help to increase your overall knowledge of the business. Your managers are always there to help you and will always be open to answering any queries or questions you have.
Describe Orbit in one word
Encouraging