Meet
Charlotte

Age 23

Area Plymouth, Devon

Charlotte Waites is 23 from Plymouth. She is employed by Devon and Plymouth Chambers of Commerce working on the Heart of The South West Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP).

Having found that University was not for her, she excelled in a Business Administration Apprenticeship before landing her role as the Lead Administrator for the LSIP at the Devon and Plymouth Chambers of Commerce. As her role has adapted and grown she has been diversifying her skillset to adapt. Charlotte recently completed the Project Management Skills Bootcamp at Exeter College.

Charlotte said, “I decided to join the Project Management Skills Bootcamp to further the skills I have learnt since I have joined the Chamber, as I had no previous Project Management skills.”

With changes happening in their project team, her employer agreed that it would be a good time for Charlotte to develop her skills and supported her to take one day out a week to attend the Skills Bootcamp.

“I found managing my time easier than expected, perhaps that is because I like to be very organised. I would check my work emails during breaks and respond to anything urgent, anything else I would add to my ‘to-do list’ for the following day and mentally plan ahead for this.”

Helen Hart, LSIP’s Project Executive, said: “As an employer this short, accredited course has been ideal in upskilling Charlotte in a very affordable and relevant way. It’s a practical course that has taken her strengths in administrating projects to the next level and gives her the knowledge and confidence to take on more responsibility.

“The project management qualification has opened up other new and exciting opportunities within the chamber which benefit both Charlotte and our organisation.”

“I enjoyed learning new things and new details of areas I had already been using, as several of the topics overlapped with my job role. I think the year I had working as a project administrator really helped when it came to understanding the content and writing the report.

“The content was very detailed so even those who had no Project Management experience were able to understand, and the tutor was very happy to answer questions and explain things further for those who needed it. You could tell in the room that everyone felt supported and not thrown in the deep end.”

“The Skills Bootcamp provided a good starting place for me to develop my Project Management knowledge and skills, this will definitely be beneficial for any future projects the Chamber will take on and I will be looking to undertake further Project Management qualifications in the future.”

“I would highly recommend taking part in a Skills Bootcamp to anyone who is looking to change sector or develop themselves further. The courses are relatively short term so you can reach your goals much faster than a normal qualification and you are supported every step of the way.”

Join the thousands supercharging their skills and find out more about the Skills Bootcamps available in Devon and Cornwall this year.