Meet Kit Kaynes

How does the training provider deliver the training? 

The programme runs for 18 months including the End Point Assessment period, and in these 18 months I take part in online 'Knowledge Bites' and workshops on Zoom with other apprentices on the same course as me. 

How does your course/mentor support you?

My trainer comes into the University every 2 weeks to be a point of call for all the apprentices that he mentors and we have a scheduled meeting at least once a month. These meetings involve him checking that everything to do with the course and the job is going okay, and going through everything that needs to be known working towards the End Point Assessment, which is kept in mind from the beginning and slowly increased so that it seems less daunting and that you know exactly what you're going to need to do.

What is your typical day at work?

I spend the majority of my day working on the reception desk and the enquiries desk in the main library where I answer all sorts of queries and help with resource searches for all the users at our libraries. I also spend time working on the live chat service we have in the library and answering email queries. Since starting here, I've also spent a good amount of time going to talks and going on POD courses to develop my knowledge not only for my apprenticeship but to learn more and get better at my job as well. The amount of personal development opportunities at the university is something that I've found to be amazing and I've loved saying yes to as much as possible!

What has been the best part of your apprenticeship?

I think I have to say the community that the university builds to connect apprentices across the uni. I think having a specific team of people that are there to create a real community feeling between all apprentices, no matter how different the apprenticeships you're doing, is something that's really special. This includes a lot of social opportunities but also really interesting events and activities to mix up your day-to-day job a bit! For example, me and a team of different apprentices are currently working on a stall to run at an event for National Apprenticeship Week.

What do you hope to do on completion of your apprenticeship?

I've really loved working here at the university and I would love to stay on working in library services here! The knowledge and skills that I am developing from the apprenticeship is really helping me to build up my confidence in this job and I can see already, after only 3 months, how transferable these skills are going to be!