LSP Team Development - Dylan

At LSP we pride ourselves on the continuous development of our staff. Many team members began their journey as an Apprentice and have gone on to secure rewarding roles within the business, completing numerous qualifications and progressing within their chosen role.

Meet Dylan, LSP’s Partner Account Manager, who started with the business in 2013. Here he describes his career journey, the experience working with the team at LSP and advice to those looking to kick start their career.

Since starting with LSP, what career journey have you been on?

“I have had quite an interesting journey with LSP since the start, I originally applied for an Apprenticeship LSP was providing the recruitment and training services for but was fortunately unsuccessful and was offered an apprenticeship at LSP (which was a new role they created for me).

Starting out as a general Office Apprentice I spent half a day supporting the administration team and half a day supporting the recruitment team which made for quite a varied role. After 3 months I moved across to the recruitment team full time and have progressed with the recruitment/account management department now being a Partner Account Manager responsible for all Account Management.

I also had the opportunity to complete several apprenticeships including Customer Service, Business and Administration as well as Team Leading.”

What is your current role? What does an average week look like for you?

“My current role is Partner Account Manager and I am responsible for maintaining positive working relationships with our clients to ensure the success of the Apprenticeship programmes we deliver.

It is very difficult to say what an average week looks like as every day is so different. I am fortunate enough that all of our clients are so positive and have the same passion as me which is giving individuals the opportunities to grow and develop via the Apprenticeship route, so I have a lot of interesting conversations with a lot of interesting businesses and individuals.

As well as interacting with current clients to review training needs within their businesses, I also get the opportunity to speak to new potential clients to explain the benefits of the Apprenticeships we deliver, not only to them as the business but the individuals that get offered the opportunities to develop and start their career journeys.

Whilst my main role is supporting the clients we work with, I am also a key support function for our Delivery Team and I am always on hand to support them.”

How has completing apprenticeships helped you to succeed in your career?

“In short, if I hadn’t completed the Apprenticeship I wouldn’t have the career I have today. The first Apprenticeship gave me the opportunity to not only develop my knowledge and skills but also the opportunity to experience the working world and find out what I enjoyed and in some cases, didn’t enjoy!

After completing my first Apprenticeship in Business and Administration I then moved on to a Customer Service Apprenticeship which was more focused around working with clients and candidates, as my role at the time involved assisting in the recruiting of Apprentices.

The last Apprenticeship I completed was in Team Leading which allowed me to develop my managerial skills which involved taking on additional responsibilities as well as supporting newer colleagues into the business.  

 All 3 Apprenticeships gave me the opportunity to learn new skills and progress within the company… I think that’s the beauty of Apprenticeships with them being ‘hands on’, work based qualifications.”

What is it like working with LSP?

“Honestly, it doesn’t feel like ‘work’. I’m lucky enough to really enjoy my job and the colleagues and Directors I work with and it’s more of a lifestyle. Every member of staff supports one another and it feels more like an extended family at times.”

What are your next career steps?

“My next career steps are to continue to grow with the business and in turn, growing the team around me. Although Covid-19 did pause our growth for 2 years we’ve recovered excellently and we’re back where we were prior to the pandemic.”

What advice would you give to someone looking to begin their career journey?

“I would definitely recommend an Apprenticeship; it gives you as the individual an opportunity to learn on the job whilst also gaining an academic qualification. It also in turn allows you to grow with the business which I was fortunate enough to do.

It’s also important to try new things and push yourself out of your comfort zone, that way you develop and learn what you do and don’t like, enabling you to pursue the career you really want.”