Natalia joined VGC in April 2021 as an apprentice Administrator on SCS. Last week, she achieved a distinction in her NVQ level 3 diploma in Business Administration.
Natalia had chosen A-Levels in psychology, history, and sociology, but realised that she would prefer a course of study that had a practical application. In April 2021, she began her apprenticeship at VGC.
Labour manager, Jana Romanova has been a pivotal mentor to Natalia, and was quickly impressed with the pace at which she picked up new skills. Natalia has always gone above and beyond her job requirements, and has become an integral part of not only her team, but the company as a whole, emphasising that, “I really enjoy engaging with all the different people on the project, on site and in the office, and hearing their views.”
She exemplifies collaboration not only internally by liaising with site and office staff alike, but also in participating in daily calls with labour managers from our joint labour desk partners Danny Sullivan and McGinley’s.
Within her role, Natalia organises HS2 inductions for the VGC workforce on SCS. When onboarding, she ensures that our fairness, inclusion and respect (FIR) policies and values of inclusivity that are central to VGC are cascaded amongst all VGC staff.
Natalia particularly enjoys the recruitment aspect of her role, including resourcing and advertising, as well as conducting compliance checks, including right to work, and verifying qualifications. She also ensures that everyone in her team gets a contract of employment and that they fully understand their entitlements including their pay rates, overtime, benefits and employment rights.
Natalia has made a positive impact across VGC, and her team are incredibly proud of this achievement. Head of delivery, Chris O’Sullivan, said:
“Natalia is a quick learner and adapts to changes well. She is great support to HS2 team and fits well within team. Natalia is organized, and has excelled in the areas of recruitment, compliance and data analysis and reporting. Natalia has grasped every challenge given to her and is now ready to move to the next level. We are delighted that her hard work has been recognized with a distinction in her programme of study”
Natalia goes above and beyond the remit of her role regularly, and has been recognised for consistently demonstrating our company values, and promoting the inclusive culture VGC strives for. She has been shortlisted for Apprentice of the Year at the Construction News Specialists awards, with winners being announced in September 2022.
Apprenticeships give people the chance to learn while they earn, and are part of the technical training element of the VGC Academy programme. As a member of the 5% Club, VGC commits to having at least five percent of our people in apprenticeships but regularly exceeds this number.
If you work for VGC and are interested in learning new skills, please talk to your labour manager.
If you are interested in an apprenticeship at VGC, visit Jobs at VGC Group – VGC Group
