National Apprenticeship Week

Ever wondered what a week in the life of an apprentice is like?

Nicole is completing her Operations Manager Apprenticeship Level 5 with TfGM.

Here, Nicole tells us about a typical busy week in her role as an Assistant Duty Manager while also completing her apprenticeship and having a busy life at home.

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A Week in the Life of Me

When I applied for my current role just over 2 years ago, I had the opportunity to complete a Level 5 apprenticeship in Operational Management. Having already completed Uni with a 2-year-old and a new-born, I thought I could handle anything thrown at me – but it turns out balancing homelife and work doesn’t get any easier as they get older! I have two boys, Luca and Isaac, aged 8 & 6, a 13-year-old stepson, Theo, who lives near Birmingham and visits at least once a month, and there’s my partner, Addae, who has a demanding job as a Software Engineer. Although he does works remotely which helps massively with the school run. The boys are at what I like to call – the activity stage, meaning my evenings and weekends are no longer my own. So, balancing my job, the apprenticeship and family is something I don’t always get right, but I’m getting there. It is difficult at times but it’s also so fulfilling. Exceeding my own expectations and feeling a sense of purpose and pride makes all the hard moments more than worth it. So, here’s a little glimpse into the life of me, a mother, an Assistant Duty Manager, and an Apprentice.

Monday

Here we go again! The start of another busy week. I wake up around 6.30am and have a blissful 30 minutes of quiet to gather my thoughts. At 7am it’s time to wake the boys up for school. I have a meeting at 8.30, so Addae is taking them in today. I say bye as I jump on the meeting. Then off to Shudehill Interchange as I’m interviewing today. I get home around 5pm, just as the boys’ finish eating and it’s time to get them ready for their swimming lesson at 6. Off we go. Back home around 7.30pm. The boys are already showered and in their PJs from swimming, so we chill for an hour before bedtime. Depending on how the day has gone, I might try and grab an hour to work on my latest assignment. If not, its Netflix and bed!

Tuesday

Tuesday starts much the same as Monday but without the morning meeting. So, I take the kids to school and then usually head to Bury Interchange for a co-working day. I’m currently working on projects within Bus Ops, so its great time to catch up with my team, share ideas, discuss how we plan and implement them, and work on my various individual little projects. I head home around 5pm. The boys have reading books and homework to do, so we get on with that. Its athletics practice tonight, so they get changed and off we go. It’s much more fun in summer! We get back around 8pm and its shower, teeth and bed and I’m not long behind them!

Wednesday

It’s my apprenticeship day! I take the kids to school and then finally get some uninterrupted time to do some assignments (albeit only until 3.30pm!). And even better there’s no activity tonight so a whole evening inside the house. Woohoo! There’s no teaching session today so I get my laptop out and get cracking. It’s funny because this day has become my peace. There are some Wednesday’s where I’m probably not as productive as others – I think I can sometimes burnout a little. But having that one day a week to get what I need to do done is an absolute blessing! I start by logging any “off the job” work I’ve done in the last week, and then get stuck into whichever assignment I’m working on. It can take me a bit of time to get going but once I’m off, I’m off!

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Thursday

0830 meeting again! Get the kids ready, off they go with their dad whilst I join the meeting. Various other meetings throughout the day mean I don’t get home until 5.45 and its athletics again tonight! Frantically get the boys changed and off we go! We’re at home for 8pm, they’re in bed for 8.30. I spend an hour or two finishing off the assignment I almost completed yesterday and then should I sneak another hour of Netflix in or go to bed? Netflix it is.

Friday

It’s Friday!!!!!! I wake the kids up singing “It’s Friday then, it’s Saturday, Sunday (what!),” for those of you that know the song I’m talking about. The boys love it. I am more than over it. We have our little mini-Friday morning rave and then we all get ready, and I take them to school. I have quite a few tasks I need to really focus on today, so I decide to work from home. My Dad is picking them up from school today, so I’ll get a full working day. On occasion I may not get a full apprenticeship day due to work commitments, when that happens, I usually use some of Friday to take them back. Once the boys are home, we do our traditional Friday movie and pizza night. 9pm means it’s wine o clock so off to bed they go! If I’ve been working on any assignments during the day, I may spend some time on them once the boys are in bed. But I’ve found wine and assignments don’t’ mix well!

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As you can tell, my life is a little busy, but the flexibility our organisation and my department offer in allowing me to have that one day a week to solely focus on and prioritise my apprenticeship is so important; I’d really struggle without it. So, to anyone thinking of doing an apprenticeship, but wondering whether they have the time, go for it, you won’t regret it. If you make sure you prioritise your scheduled study time, you can absolutely do it. I won’t say it’s all been smooth sailing, but the fulfilment I get, and the example I’m showing to my boys, make it all worthwhile.

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