Newsletter

A Day in the Life Of…
Want to know how different Apprentices spend their time? We caught up with two of our Apprentices
to find out what they get up to on a typical day at work…
...an Accountancy Apprentice
Michael Riley, 19 from Wigan, is
a Level 3 Accountancy Apprentice at
Salford City College’s head office.
…a Plumbing & Heating
Apprentice
Jonjo McGee, 22 from Liverpool,
is a Level 2 Plumbing & Heating
Apprentice at HE Simm - one of the UK’s
leading providers of building services.
“I decided to become an Apprentice to pursue my
career in plumbing. I really enjoy my Apprenticeship- I
feel that each day I’m learning something new which
encourages me to improve my knowledge of plumbing.
The benefit of being an Apprentice with HE Simm is
that I am part of one of the biggest, fastest growing
company in the North West, which is something
special that I take great pride in. Everything is done
professionally and to a high standard, which means
that there are always goals to work towards, both on site
and in college.”
8.00am - Start work. I collect my tool bag from the store
room and head up to the floor we are working on. I am
currently working on site at Leeds University, working on
two blocks of student accommodation. One is 15 floors,
the other is 11 floors, totalling 474 rooms altogether. The
project is about 65% completed at the moment, and is
due for completion in July.
9.00am - Working away doing tasks such as soldering
on copper work or clipping on clusters.
1.00pm - Lunch time - I head to the HE Simm canteen.
2.00pm - Head back up to where I was previously
working to finish off the jobs for the day.
3.00pm - Pack away any materials used and tidy up,
then take tools down to the store room before heading
home.
“The role of an Accountancy Apprentice is an exciting
and diverse role within the College. As part of the finance
department, I get to work across all the different sections
in finance, which gives me a varied and exciting day, as
well as valuable experience. Some of my work includes
the processing of invoices, speaking to suppliers regarding
orders, and speaking to students. One of the highlights
of my job so far was being given a specific section to
look after, as I am now responsible for it, and it gives me
a better understanding of the responsibilities of a finance
job and career.”
8:30am - Look through my emails and highlight particular
emails which need urgent attention, and set out plans
to deal with these. I then begin to work with sales ledger,
and work through my list of students who need contacting
regarding their account with the College, and update
their accounts accordingly.
9:30am - By this time I move onto procurement, so I begin
to source different items which have been requested
through the departments, and place orders for people
who had requested specific items from our suppliers. A
large part of this role is dependent on finding the best
value supplier for the goods/service we require, so a good
deal of research goes into finding the right supplier for our
departments.
11:00am - Finishing my work with procurement, I am now
working for purchase ledger, which requires me to process
the invoices related to different goods or services used
by the College. This is a high volume area within finance,
so hard work and good planning go a long way to
helping you get through the workload. In addition to this, I
reconcile statements from our suppliers, to make sure that
they have been paid all that is owed to them, and ensure
that we maintain a healthy relationship with them.
1:00pm-During my time with cash and banking, I am
required to deal with various sources of income, such as
cash, cheques, and card transactions. I have to ensure
that everything is accounted for, as the handling of
student and staff money is something which is treated
very seriously. I also work on reconciling the College’s
card transactions, so that everything matches our college
bank account.