Lily Mears, Author at Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom

How apprentices drive competitive growth and innovation

Lily Mears and Selina Tishler — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 13:00:17 +0000

Apprenticeships are an opportunity. An opportunity for your organisation to acquire the talent you need and remain competitive. And an opportunity for apprentices to develop vital digital skills and get a head start in their chosen career. 92 percent of apprentices stay with the company they start with and remain more loyal. After all, they’ve started their career in a place that values them and helps build their skills.

Apprenticeships are becoming a very popular way into the working world. It allows young people to earn a salary and get a head-start in their careers. While doing this they are learning important skills and gaining certifications.

This year, Microsoft hosted a virtual event for National Apprenticeship Week. We looked at how to build a supportive culture for a successful apprenticeship programme. We also looked at ways to democratise digital skills throughout your organisation.

Building a growth mindset in your culture

We engaged in inspiring sessions, delivered by Selina Tishler. She spoke of the history of Microsoft, starting from the beginning with Paul Allen and Bill Gates. From here, we saw the main drivers of change within Microsoft. We learnt how Satya made changes to the culture to empower employees. This shift alongside the focus of diversity and emphasis on mental health has led to a more inclusive community. This change to a ‘learn-it-all’ culture means that challenges become opportunities.

This growth mindset is key to apprentices to find their feet on this journey. It also helps organisations create passionate, excited employees who want to acheive more.

Helping apprentices succeed in the hybrid workplace

In the new world of work, people have different expectations of the workplace. This includes apprentices. It’s a reflection of their experiences with technology. This means they may expect flexible devices and tools, or a remote working policy. We know that the last year means organisations may have already started building a hybrid workplace. Microsoft and YouGov research found that almost nine out of 10 employees report that their businesses have adapted to hybrid working. But you can’t forget to ensure you adapt your apprenticeship programmes to the hybrid workplace too.

We talked to current Microsoft apprentices to get some insight into how they have faced the changing world of work. We also spoke to some managers on how they can help apprentices in the hybrid workplace.

Building technical skills in apprentices

As I mentioned earlier, apprentices are a great way for organisations to develop technical capabilities in new technology such as AI. By utilising AI, organisations can streamline operations, discover new insights, deliver better customer experiences and more. But it’s not just important for apprentices to learn these skills. The ability to re- and upskill needs to be available to all employees – especially if you want to drive that growth mindset culture. It will make you more innovative, more competitive, more attractive to new talent and therefore – more profitable.

Despite digital acceleration in 2020, our recent report found 69 percent of UK leaders believe their organisation has a digital skills gap. Luckily, we have plenty of resources to share with organisations or people wanting to see how they can leverage AI or other technology:

Driving innovation with apprentices

At Microsoft, our apprentices and employees don’t just stop learning once they reach their certifications – they continuously upskill. This is because they live and breathe our growth mindset culture. Part of this is our work with AI for Good and how we help enterprises create better experiences. We heard from Vanessa Araújo, Microsoft Cloud Solution Architect about where the world is moving to with AI.

Vanessa spoke about the importance of responsible AI and Microsoft’s commitment to it. We learned all about what can go wrong with AI and how to mitigate those risks. Moreover, she also talked about how we all must be accountable and proactive when thinking about these concepts. Part of this is ensuring we have the digital skills and soft skills to understand how to responsibly use new technologies. In the new world of work, we will be increasingly working alongside AI. Therefore, it’s important for apprentices to learn digital and soft skills while they’re on the job. Not only to effectively do their work but be able to understand these important concepts to drive responsible innovation in the future.

We had a lot apprentices attending who were keen to understand the way in which things were moving. Vanessa told us about augmented reality and automation. How we can take advantage of low/no code solutions in Power Platform, for example, to streamline our own work without coding knowledge. Others were curious about how AI and accessibility works, and we learnt about how AI can help make interviews more accessible.

Helping us to achieve more

Our sessions during National Apprenticeship Week reflected the growth mindset culture of Microsoft. While we focussed on apprentices, what came through was Microsoft’s core belief that everyone is part of this journey. We collectively grew our curiosity, learnt new things, and have discovered many new opportunities with technology.

As we are optimistically looked towards the future, there’s no question that apprentices and a growth mindset will be a driving force in developing the innovation, competitive growth and resilience in our organisations.

Find out more

Learn about apprenticeships

Build your digital skills

About the authors

Lily is a level 6 degree apprentice working alongside a talented team in the Customer Success Unit. She’s had the opportunity work in communications, people and culture and the awards processes with her department. She’s also been able to get involved in projects outside of her job role to further her career development, such as planning a Women at Microsoft.

Selina works in Microsoft’s Learning and Skilling department based in the UK, managing our learning programs and helping people and organisations to upskill and find their potential. She also works with our EMEA team driving engagement and D&I efforts. Selina is a Level 4 Junior Management Consultant degree apprentice and has been at Microsoft for a year and a half.

The post How apprentices drive competitive growth and innovation appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Choosing an apprenticeship as a route into the working world

Lily Mears — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 09:00:34 +0000

If you’re a more practical hands-on learner, like me, an apprenticeship could be a perfect route for you to get into the world of work. I became an apprentice because I wanted to throw myself into working life but didn’t want my education to stop.

As an apprentice, you’ll able to see learnings in real life scenarios and develop core business skills whilst you learn the fundamentals of how a business operates. There are many others benefits to an apprenticeship too, such as earning whilst you learn, and gaining vital work experience and connections to grow your professional network. There’s a massive support system from the education provider and the company you work for to help you along the way too, so you never feel like you’re in it alone.

Future-proof your career

Apprenticeships set you up for success in your future career. They push all your skills and help you progress on your weaknesses by pushing you outside of your comfort zone. Not only do they provide you with a qualification that will be recognised by most companies, they also promote your soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and analytical thinking which help to build the core skills that will prepare you for the future of work.

Throughout my own apprenticeship journey, I’ve learnt how to communicate with people around the business in a more professional manner. I have also learnt how to build relationships with members of the team and the customers we work with. Learning about our technology along the way, I’ve gained vital skills that will help me in any future job prospects too.

A supportive, open culture

The culture at Microsoft is very encouraging. With a “come as you are, do what you love” culture, they encourage all employees to be original and own their personal brand image. This creates a motivating and creative environment where everyone supports each other and leverages each other’s strengths. I’ve always felt I can be myself and that it’s OK to ask to help.

Apprentices have a massive support system from the team they join. The HR team are also a huge part of your support network, especially when it comes to on-boarding. This helpful nature extends to the wider department where everyone is approachable and nothing is too much trouble for anyone. It’s clear that everybody wants you to succeed here and there are no wrong questions.

My manager arranges bi-weekly catch up calls and offers support by answering any of the questions I have. I’m pushed to reach my full potential by being put in contact with people who can further support me with my learning and development. They have also encouraged me to work on my strengths by giving me opportunities to grow and work on my weaknesses through projects I haven’t yet done before, or may not be 100 percent confident in.

My manager encourages me to build on my strengths by working on relevant projects as well as developing my weaknesses by gaining new experiences. Taking the apprenticeship route was a brilliant way for me to get into the working world while gaining industry recognised qualifications. I get to practically apply my learnings whilst I develop both the digital and soft skills I need in order to future-proof my career.

My tips for a successful apprenticeship journey

For those of you who are looking to pursue an apprenticeship as an alternative route to work, here are a few of my tips to help you with your journey – from completing your application to your making the most of your time in the business:

When applying, show your personality through your CV – businesses look for people who can bring difference to the table!
Always be true to what you have previously done – don’t fluff your CV to try and impress the recruiters.
Don’t be afraid to dive into the projects that scare you – you’ll be supported the whole way.
Take every opportunity to show and grow your strengths.
Create a great support network of mentors, colleagues, and friends.

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About the author

Lily is a level 4 apprentice working alongside a talented team in the Customer Success Unit. After 6 months in role she’s had the opportunity to visit customers around the country, as well as helping and teaching them to use Microsoft products to the best of their ability. She’s also been able to get involved in projects outside of her job role to further her career development, such as planning a STEM event for school girls and taking part in DigiGirlz.

The post Choosing an apprenticeship as a route into the working world appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.