by Ayesha
Project Coordinator Apprentice (Level 3 Business Admin)
At Softcat
Level 3 Apprenticeship
My role as a Project Coordinator entails things such as ensuring projects run smoothly from start to finish, these projects are various technical services and solutions sold by Softcat, which I help deliver. I act as the operational backbone of the project team— supporting planning, communication, documentation, and progress tracking to assist Project Managers where necessary.
Some of my highlights while in the role have been Kick Off - a company wide event - where I was able to achieve the award for Tech and Services Apprentice of the year. Another highlight would be how I've been able to see my skills develop as I took on larger projects and more responsibilities within the team and having opportunities to work with senior project managers on larger engagements.
A challenge I faced was trying to maintain a steady balance between apprenticeship work and actual Project work. Each role is different but my job deals with a lot of deadlines and external customers which can make my project work seem quite urgent and a higher priority than my apprenticeship work. Having honest talks with manager helped this challenge, with her support I was able to not fall behind with either project work or coursework.
After being in the role for more than a year I've learnt a whole lot, like how important it is to step out of your comfort zone, continuously challenge yourself. Within my role I've learnt various project management skills and techniques as well as how to manage various stakeholders and build genuine relationships with my colleagues and customers.
Advice I'd give would be to take each day at a time, stepping into a role such as this while being fresh out of college can be overwhelming at times. Keep a clear goal of where you want to be at the end of your apprenticeship and in the meantime do everything you can to push yourself. when you treat everything as an opportunity to learn, there is not much that can go wrong!
