Apprenticeship case study with apprentice Silvia Maria Putinica
Meet Silvia Maria Putinica
Job Title: Reservations Supervisor at PPHE
Employer: Plaza Hotel Group
Name of Apprenticeship: Team Leader Level 3
My name is Maria, I am a Reservations Supervisor at Park Plaza Hotels Europe.
The reason why I chose an apprenticeship is that I was working as a supervisor for over 2 years and I felt it was a good opportunity to step up.
Also, the apprenticeship opportunity was offered to me during the first lockdown and it was a perfect excuse for me to keep my mind busy with something that was not only working.
I'm currently part of the Team Leader Level 3 apprenticeship programme with Umbrella Training; my Learning Consultant is Angi Fekete and my workplace mentor is Paulo Andrade.
My favourite part of my job and the apprenticeship is people management. I can learn new techniques with my apprenticeship programme and I can implement what I learn at my workplace.
I love learning about people, anything related to psychology and human behaviour. So my job, combined with the apprenticeship programme, gives me the best opportunity to learn about people and leadership.
I knew already that I was interested in psychology and human behaviour but during my apprenticeship, it became even more clear that I love learning about it.
Time management is another area that I thought I was good at but I became more aware and passionate about it during my apprenticeship.
Kyla Kennaly (Umbrella Training Learning Consultant) told me something on a finance session that we had with Umbrella Training and I believe that was one of the best pieces of advice I was ever given.
She said, before you're presenting a project, choose the toughest audience for practising it, because they will give you the most constructive feedback. Their feedback will focus on all the critical areas you must improve.
The monthly training sessions and the 121 sessions with my Learning Consultant are very supportive and for me, they provide me with great guidance and keep me on track.
Maria’s Manager Paulo Andrade said - "If you know the answer, just give the answer."
He said this regarding empowering members of the reservation teams and I found this very helpful.
