Meet apprentice Phoebe Hickinbottom

In National Apprenticeship Week we are focusing on some of our colleagues who are currently working towards a qualification with us.

One of these is our learning and development adviser Phoebe Hickinbottom. She is part of the Human Resources team and supports the training needs of the Churchill Group.

She has just passed her Learning and Development Practitioner Level 3 qualification – equivalent to two A-level passes and will become an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Her journey hasn’t stopped though, because she is now enrolling on a Level 5 qualification.

She said: ‘I love my role and the people I work with. It’s very rewarding to support development on both an individual basis and business wide and the apprenticeship is giving me the knowledge, skills and behaviours to support my role in learning and development, particularly around training design and delivery.’

The apprenticeship has already given her career a boost, as she started it while working for her previous company as a learning and development co-ordinator and, as a result, gained promotion to learning and development adviser, which ultimately led her to her current role with us.

‘I have been studying a lot over the past few years and have found it to be good for my professional development, as well as my personal wellbeing,’ she said.

‘I would 100 per cent recommend an apprenticeship to others. They give you the theory-based knowledge to support you in your role and can provide a development pathway too.’

Head of HR Lauren Stirling said: ‘It is great to have Phoebe with us, her motivation and enthusiasm are assets to the team.

‘Having apprentices allows us to expand our workforce and ensure they have the skills we need and I look forward to seeing Phoebe develop her career further within Churchill.’