“We (Lily & I) have both completed the Higher Level Apprenticeship in Business and Professional Administration within the Business Skills Sector at Yeovil College.  This is a Level 4 qualification which is the equivalent to a foundation degree.  The two year course was full of written assignments, presentations, professional discussions and demonstrations - all to prove our knowledge and understanding of different business management and administration related topics.  Overall there were 12 mandatory units covering communication, culture and ethics, managing people and performance, managing facilities, sustainability and risk, personal and professional development, and resolving administrative problems. 

We then had to choose an additional 9 units to complete from an optional 38 subjects.  These units were more directly related to our roles within the Hunt’s Group and included subjects such as the design and development of information systems, creating bespoke business documents, analysing business data, collaborating with other departments and stakeholders, and conducting quality audits.  Another key part of the course was to reach a minimum of 747 hours of off-the-job-training (coaching, mentoring, training courses etc) provided by the company.  In addition to all of this, we had to attend weekly lectures, 6 weekly on-site visits/Microsoft Teams meetings with our assessors, bi-monthly reviews with our assessors and line managers, and of course, carry out our day-to-day roles and responsibilities for our jobs within the Hunt’s Group!”