Celebrating Apprenticeship success – National Apprenticeship Week 2025 

In this blog we explore the career progression of one of our Level 3 Team Leader Apprentices. 

Taylor Counsell began his career with East Kent Colleges Group as part of EKC Training’s Apprenticeship Recruitment team. During his time with the team, he completed the Level 3 Team Leader Apprenticeship, which led to his promotion as College Services Manager at EKC Dover College.  

We recently caught up with Taylor to hear about his Apprenticeship journey and how it shaped his career path. 

How has your Apprenticeship helped you progress to your current role? 

The Apprenticeship allowed me to learn key practices and theories that supported me with becoming a manager and how to lead people. From being inclusive and understanding of others, to ways of approaching difficult situations, my Apprenticeship helped me with this and these are things that I have incorporated into my role already. It gave me the skills, knowledge and behaviours that I need to do my new role to the best of my ability, and even ways to make it 110% rather than 100%. 
 

What support did you receive during your Apprenticeship? 

I had support from my tutor, trainer, line manager and help also on the Apprenticeship. The support carried on way outside of the classroom, my trainer always had time for a phone call if I was faced with a challenging situation in my day-to-day role. My manager was also very supportive and always had time for me if I asked for support or advice.  

How did you juggle apprenticeship work and your job role? 

I was given plenty of time in my working week to be able to attend lessons and also had self-directed study. My manager was very flexible with how I approached my learning. At times, real-life scenarios from my day-to-day role aligned with my assignments, and I was able to apply those situations directly to my coursework. 

How did you felt about returning to learning? How did you overcome this? 

At first, I felt nervous, but once I got settled into the class, I became very comfortable. The deadlines for assignments felt similar to the deadlines I had in my job at the time. After a few weeks, it all started to feel like the new normal for me. 
 

What was your favourite part about your Apprenticeship? 

My favourite part was learning about the various theories that were discussed, pitching ideas from people who worked within the Group and externally, sharing practices and understandings of various situations. Also, it was great to overcome my fear of public speaking with the bi-weekly presentations that we gave in lessons. I was thrilled to receive such positive feedback on them. 
 

What would your advice be to anyone considering an Apprenticeship? 

If you’re in a role that allows you to pursue learning, take the opportunity to do it. You’ll receive great support from your team and those around you. You’ll also be part of a class with like-minded people who are all eager to learn. With EKC Training, the level of support is outstanding, from tutors and trainers to classmates and Heads of Apprenticeship Departments. 

If you are interested in boasting your career, consider an Apprenticeship. Find out what we could offer you today.