Our Head of HR, Belinda Lewis, meets some of our colleagues who are learning while they work to mark national Learning At Work Week.
"Our working life is just one dimension of who we are. Personal development, whether for work or pleasure, contributes to a wider sense of self – it promotes self-esteem and drives curiosity. Curiosity is the seedling of innovation and creativity, and without it we’re unlikely to be truly happy.
Learning at Work Week is an annual event used to build learning cultures at work. Personal development is key within a business and at Assura we have lots of innovative, creative, and inclusive activities to support this. From employees completing qualifications while working to our company-wide development schemes, our team has a lot of experience to share."
Zoe Roberts
Zoe is one of our management accountants. Her day-to-day role includes processing management accounts, helping to produce budgets, looking at non-recoverable costs, and running finance reports for the property team. She is also line manager to our accounts assistants. While working, Zoe’s been studying with the Association of the Chartered Certified Accountants, which means at the end of her course she’ll be a fully-qualified accountant. During her course, she’s learnt about ethics, financial reporting and corporate and business law.
“My favourite module so far has been financial reporting. Having a great team of colleagues has meant that I can always ask them any question, no matter how stupid, and they’re always happy to answer them. Having a daughter has meant that it’s been easier for me to work and learn rather than having to travel to college to study, I can revise and plan at home in my own time. Learning while working has also meant that I can apply the knowledge I’ve been taught in exams to real life situations in the workplace”
We asked Zoe what advice she would give to anyone thinking of learning and working at the same time:
“Do it! I’m a massive believer in self-development within work – and Assura are great for that. They’re helpful and accommodating and make learning from home really easy, for example allowing study leave for each exam.”
Natalie McRoy
Natalie is one of our Portfolio Asset Assistants, helping to arrange repairs and maintenance of our properties. While working, Natalie’s been completing her Masters in Real Estate. Her dissertation was on placemaking in Warrington, and she interviewed people in our office for her project.
“I’ve been able to ask our investment and development teams for help with my course and I have been able to pick up experience from my role which I’ve used in my study. It’s been helpful to have support from those who do the same role and be able to ask colleagues who’ve done similar courses for advice and support.”
We asked Natalie what advice she would give to anyone thinking of learning and working at the same time:
“It is difficult, and it is stressful - it’s important to prepare yourself for the time it will take up. Try to be really structured to make sure your work-life balance is there.”
Loveday Josse
Loveday is our very first apprentice. She helps the accounts department to support all areas of the business – from occupier queries to supplier payments. Her course is Association of Accounting Technicians Level 3 Advanced Diploma which is the next step from her previous course, covering bookkeeping, final accounts preparation and indirect tax. Her course is remote at the moment, but she normally goes into college once a week.
“The major benefit of working while learning is experience. You completely get immersed into the role which helps you study and work almost at the same time. College does not cover some bits you learn in an actual role. Because you’re working, you learn things in more depth, and you have a great support network of colleagues to teach you tips and tricks which college doesn’t.”
We asked Loveday what advice she would give to anyone thinking of learning and working at the same time:
“It’s all about balance. You will have to study after work, which improves your time management. If you can organise your time well, you’ll be fine.”
Next week, we'll meet Andy and Lisa who were part of our cross-business development programme to build skills through brand new projects.