Skills for Life: Our Apprenticeship Success Stories

At Ascend, we believe that the skills we train our apprentices in are skills for life, equipping them to climb the insurance career ladder with passion and knowledge. Through our professional training and personal development initiatives, we already have two success stories of former apprentices who have made their way to management roles and are being fast tracked for possible director positions:

Former apprentice 1

“I graduated from university with a 2:1 in Sports Management, having written a dissertation on Empowerment in Management.

Since joining Ascend, I have developed and learned how to build and manage a client portfolio which I have successfully grown to £200k in two and a half years. During this time, I took part in the Ascend Sales Development Programme, as well as joining the South East Young BIBA Committee.

At Ascend, I am exposed to all aspects of innovative brokering, market knowledge, and marketing and sales experience, with the goal of building the best customer propositions. I also oversee and manage all new intakes of apprentices.

I am continually building on the foundations I have been able to put in place through the training provided by my vastly experienced leadership team, along with the managerial tools I have learnt through my degree. The experience and lessons I am learning from others who have already walked the path of leadership will help me push on in my career, a career I have embarked on for life, not just as a stepping stone.

Ascend has been instrumental in furthering this career and my personal development as I head towards what I hope is a directorial position in the future. I have recently been promoted to the Executive Management Team where I am able to push myself in the pursuit of excellence in the insurance field.”

 

Former apprentice 2

“I started in the insurance industry at Ascend in 2020 as an apprentice.

Joining the sales & marketing team, I immediately started my training in how brokers create new business opportunities - and started cold calling. I assisted in the development of marketing strategies, the development and launch of a bespoke open AI CRM system, plus website management.

I moved into the commercial broking team, working on renewals & new business. Here, I learned the intricacies of different sectors, from construction/commercial to professions and transport. I completed my Cert CII and Level 3 Insurance Practitioner during the process.

I was quickly recognised to have a skill in IT and became instrumental in an operations role, implementing ways to make working processes more efficient for the company.

I also quickly learnt accounting and claims processes, and covered these roles whilst colleagues were away.

Recently, I have been promoted to Operations Manager. This involves looking to reduce waste and to maximise employee efficiency in every department in the company. I also introduce different processes and systems to minimise risk and admin costs, working closely with Ascend directors to make sure decisions are in line with company culture.”

 

Ascend places high value on its apprentices and views them as the intrinsic future of the business. We believe the sky’s the limit when it comes to how far an apprentice will progress in the company and endeavour to give each apprentice the tools they need to go all the way!

Read more blogs from Ascend:

The power of insurance apprenticeships and what they mean to Ascend

A day in the life of an Ascend apprentice