Ahead of National Apprenticeship Week, Rexel highlights one of its apprentices that has already gone on to become a mentor just a few years into her career.
Jola Brocka originally joined the company’s scheme in 2015. Today, she is the Trade Counter Supervisor at the Rexel Worcester branch.
Following completing an Extended Business Diploma to Level 3, Jola was looking for an apprenticeship scheme as she was keen to work in the electrical wholesale industry – and to make sure she was ‘earning while learning’.
Jola admits her first year was challenging, as she had no product knowledge and had to learn everything from scratch.
She explained: “Everyone at the branch was very helpful and I was able to learn the system quite quickly, while at the same time picking up the necessary product knowledge.
“I worked on customer quotes, taking phone calls and serving on the trade counter, which went a long way to building my confidence.”
Jola’s career continued to be successful and she undertook an NVQ in Customer Service, which led to her moving into an internal sales role in April 2016.
This was followed by her receiving an Award for Training Excellence at the Electrical Wholesaler Magazine Awards 2017 in London.
Nowadays, Jola undertakes the key role of an apprentice mentor, where she is able to pass on the benefit of her experience to other up and coming apprentices at Rexel.
When asked about what advice she would give to other young people considering an apprenticeship, Jola said: “Always be yourself and don’t pretend to be anyone else.
“Also, speaking to customers on the phone really is the quickest way to learn about the industry you are working in, the product and services and so on.”
Rexel offers between 70-80 apprentice opportunities every year. For more information, visit: www.rexel.co.uk
