Earlier this month, we met with Hollie Platt, a Business and Administration apprentice at Hilti Great Britain Head Office. Working in the Facilities department for the past four months, Hollie has already been involved in significant projects including the new Hilti Head Office development.
My name is Hollie and I currently work in the Facilities department as a Business and Administration apprentice as well as supporting the IT department with their projects at Hilti.
My day-to-day responsibilities include: reporting maintenance issues, updating the Health & Safety reports and sorting the mail. I also manage our stock and I‘m responsible for ordering equipment and materials when needed.
I am doing a 12-month Business and Administration Apprenticeship at Level 2 with City and Guilds through Trafford College. I decided to do an apprenticeship rather than pursuing the education route, simply because I am keen on learning on the job and having hands-on experience, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do that as I enjoy being in a working environment and gaining knowledge first hand.
From my first day at Hilti, I felt welcome and at ease. I quickly realised that there are many opportunities for me to develop my skills and learn new things. For example, I was given responsibilities straight away which made me feel like I was a part of the team. I also like the fact that I have a lot of support from the people around me along with the freedom to run with projects and make them my own.
I would say that if you enjoy being practical and in a working environment then this is something I would highly recommend. If you enjoy learning in the work place and studying at the same time, then this would be a great opportunity for you – the best of both worlds.
I have had a lot of support from my Team Leader and colleagues - when I started I was taken through how the team operates, the companies vision and what my role would be. I have attended courses such as the Hilti Way, Lean Training for new starters and had many 1-to-1s with my Team Leader and mentor, Berni Grant, Head of Procurement.
Also, the team individually took me through their roles which gave me a really good indication of how we would be working together, and they have always been very open and honest which has allowed me to ask questions when I was unsure.
I first heard about the apprenticeship through my stepfather Stuart McClements who is an Account Manager for Hilti. He suggested that it would be a good way for me to gain experience in order to start my career, and he was right.
There are three stages in the recruitment process. The first was a video interview where I was asked a series of questions and I had to record my answers. Then, the second stage was a first interview where I met Kathryn Walmsley on arrival who was very attentive and welcoming. The interview was with Berni Grant and Steve Griffin, Regional Infrastructure Manager. and then I was given a short tour of the building by Vim Bhatt. The third stage was a second interview which was very informal and I participated in the Facilities and IT SFM meetings which allowed me to gauge how the departments worked and what projects they were working on. I found this to be really insightful and it confirmed that this apprenticeship was for me.
Finally, up to this point, I can honestly say that this apprenticeship has helped me to become more confident in communicating with people and the interview process allowed me to gain better people skills. I think it will give me a good base of knowledge to start my career and by spending time with different departments I’m getting a good understanding of the different roles I might like to explore in future.
For more information, please contact E1teamressourcing@hilti.com
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