Spotlight on Talent – Olivia Babb

Studied: Business Administration Apprenticeship
Progression : HR Administrator, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

Like many school and college students, Olivia Babb first found the idea of starting a job and being in a workplace exciting but scary.  She has since discovered that overcoming the scary bit means experiencing the exciting part a whole lot sooner.

This took place when she transferred from her A Levels on to a business administration apprenticeship with Walsall NHS Trust.

“My original plan was to start an Apprenticeship after my A Levels,” said Olivia.  “When I realised my heart wasn’t fully into what I was studying, I decided to go straight for the apprenticeship.  I was a bit nervous about doing this.  But I told myself to ‘just do it’.”

Her actions paid off.  Through her role at The Trust, Olivia is developing a passion for HR and marketing.

In addition, a website project that was part of her Apprenticeship is proving so effective, it could soon be rolled out across the organisation.

Over nine weeks, Olivia designed and developed a microsite for new apprentices joining The Trust.  This directs them to essential information, services and systems to use while working for The Trust and completing their training.

“It’s nice to know the site is there for new people at The Trust to use,” said Olivia.  “This was my aim from the start.

“My project had to focus on something that would impact on or improve the business.  I was keen to do something to help other apprentices.”

Olivia goes on to add that her time on her apprenticeship so far has gone incredibly quickly.

“I’ve settled in really well,” said Olivia.  “Even when I spent only a couple of weeks in the office at the start and then the pandemic hit.  I got used to working from home, communicating with everyone on Teams and learning how to do everything.

“I’m enjoying my work.  I’ve had lots of support from my manager, colleagues and my college assessor.”

Olivia is looking forward to completing her Level 3 qualification and seeing how her microsite progresses over the coming months.

She added: “If someone knows they want to do an apprenticeship, but they’re worried about how they’ll fit into a working environment, I’d say they should go for it as soon as they can instead of spending too much time being unsure of what to expect.

“Once you’ve taken that big step, there’s lots of opportunities there to help start your career.”