#ScottishAppWeek2023 | Missy-Anne Spence

For #ScottishAppWeek2023 we're shining a light on different apprentices in the financial services industry. On day five, we spoke with Missy-Anne Spence, Personal Relationship Manager for Lloyds Banking Group

What was your apprenticeship and why did you choose it? 

 My Apprenticeship was a Modern Apprenticeship in Senior Financial Services customer adviser. I chose to do this as 11 years ago I was the first Apprentice for Lloyds Banking Group, doing the Foundation Apprenticeship that was on offer at the time. After completing this I then took a bit of a career gap to have my children, reducing my hours in work and finding a better work/life balance. In 2019 I decided my kids were older and starting school that it was time to pick up my career again and I had my eye on a promotion and knew that applying for the Modern Apprenticeship would help me in this. There was no hesitation from myself in applying.

 What did you enjoy most about your apprenticeship and why?

 By the time I started the modern Apprenticeship I was already 9 years in service with the bank, but this apprenticeship opened my eyes on the history of the company and also deepened my skills to help me in my everyday role. I enjoyed the learning that came with the apprenticeship and how even for someone who had worked for the company for some time there was still so much I could learn and explore in terms of the other areas of the company that I didn’t realise existed.  

 Describe something that surprised you about your apprenticeship?

The thing that surprised me the most was the amount of people standing behind me routing for me to complete this. From my assessor at Babington to my Manager and senior manager. As I was doing this apprenticeship in the heart of the pandemic when we were all home working and life was stressful enough I did find it surprised the support that was still there for me, whether it was over a telephone or on a teams call. These people ensured I was not forgotten about and that my end goal in completing my apprenticeship and looking for my promotion was always in sight.

 Describe something you learned about yourself doing your apprenticeship?

Anything I put my mind to I can do it. The apprenticeship helped me rediscover me, and when I say that I mean not Mum or colleague, just me. The confidence that I gained from doing this apprenticeship as I was pushed out of my comfort zone on a number of occasions was phenomenal. I got the chance to meet key stakeholders of the business and not only meet them but also work alongside them on projects in re-imagining the way we as a company do things, such as train new staff. Being given an opportunity like that was never something I thought would happen and having these people listening to my ideas and taking on board my input will be something I will always remember. I think also learning that apprenticeships are for anyone no mater your background, age or career journey so far has also been, for me a success as it has allowed me to share my story in my progress as an apprentice. Especially one who started at a later stage.

What is your role now and how did your apprenticeship help prepare you for it?

I can say that my end goal at the end of completing my apprenticeship and getting the promotion I had my eyes on was a success. Within two months of completing my Modern Apprenticeship I applied for a new position and was success and now I work as a Personal Relationship Manager for Lloyds Banking Group. The apprenticeship helped me prepare for this as on a number of occasions it pushed me out of my comfort zone, which in turned help me excel in an interview in front of multiple hiring managers. Also the skills I learned in terms of customer service I was able to mirror and show how I used this in my role that I was in whilst completing my Apprenticeship and how I could bring these to the role I was applying for.

Since completing My Modern Apprenticeship in 2021 I have won Babington’s Scottish Apprentice of the year and then also Lloyd’s Advanced Apprentice of the year 2022 and this year I have bene nominated for a finalist for Skills Development Scotland’s Scottish Apprentice of the year which I will find out if I have won this week.