Happy National Apprenticeship Week! Throughout this week we will be spotlighting learners from across our programmes celebrating success and highlighting their work. Today we have Dorian, a 24-year-old Library, Information and Archive Services apprentice (LIAS) at Bath and Northeast Somerset Council. Here is Dorian’s story:
“I chose this apprenticeship because I was looking to start a career that was more fulfilling and related to my English degree than the retail management route I had ended up in after graduating. Getting to specialise in my role in the stock team, which involves a lot of logistics and databases (and old books!) which I enjoy, while also learning about the library sector as a whole seemed like a good base to start a career in libraries from.
Apprenticeships are a good way to start a career from an entry level role. After my degree, I had a really hard time finding jobs in related industries because I wasn’t able to get relevant work experience due to the pandemic. Doing this apprenticeship, I’m now in a much better position through what I’ve learned in my qualification, the connections I’ve made and the varied work and training I’ve done in my role.
The best thing about my role is old books! I love old books. Even the seemingly really boring ones about beetles in Norwich or shipping lanes in the 1820s. They tell you a lot about what people valued or found interesting in different times in history. You’ll find the most heartfelt dedication to a loved one in the front of the world’s most boring book about Admiral Nelson’s naval strategies. It’s great.
I have been supported by my LMP tutor Kate, my learning support mentor who is also called Kate, and my manager Claire. All three of them have been so helpful with helping me decode the slightly jargon-y assessment criteria, balancing my accessibility needs with actually getting the work done and helping build my confidence with the course content and my job.
In my LIAS programme I’ve learned both practical hard skills and soft skills. In terms of practical hard skills I learned about the Dewey decimal system. Shakespeare? 822.33. Guinea pigs? 636.935. Nicaragua? 972.85. The soft skill I’ve gained is confidence. I really feel a lot more confident talking to customers or answering queries from other members of staff because I have gained a lot of knowledge and I know what I’m talking about. It’s important because I trust myself to know the answers when staff ask me how to do things on our Learning Management System or when a child asks me where to find books about their pet rodent.
I’m not 100% sure what my next steps are yet! I’m thinking about possibly doing a masters, either in medieval history or library science.”
Well done, Dorian, we wish you all the best!
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