National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) is the biggest week in the apprenticeships and skills calendar, taking place from 10 – 16 February 2025. The week brings together everyone passionate about apprenticeships and skills to celebrate the value, benefit, and opportunity that they bring. We are supportive of the campaign and were delighted to welcome Max Silver as our new Apprentice Membership Administration Officer in 2024.
Hear more from Max as he highlights his experience so far in our latest blog.
A question people often ask themselves before and after leaving school is “what do I want to do”, for me personally, I felt I wanted to go to university. However, after some time I realised that maybe an apprenticeship was the best option for me to help me earn whilst I learn and get practical experience. I began researching apprenticeships in the hopes of finding an organisation in which I felt I could work on things I was passionate about and would put a focus on developing my skills and experience. It took some time, but after a while I discovered an advertisement for an apprenticeship with the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS). It seemed like an amazing opportunity, both to develop my skills and to be part of an organisation that does important work and has goals that I very much believe in.
I’m pleased to say my interview was successful and having now been with BSSS for 6 months, I am very happy to say that I have found the experience incredible and have learned so much about what it means to be an administrator. Being able to be the driving force behind obtaining and managing memberships for the Society has been a very rewarding experience, as I can directly see the benefit of my work. The experience of this has taught me a lot about how to communicate concisely, professionally and effectively to those that are involved or interested in the Society. Additionally, being able to take the lead on some projects for developing BSSS has been an amazing experience. I thoroughly enjoy the process of planning out the actions of how to improve something and being able to see that change within the Society and work towards something bigger has been excellent.
Most notable amongst my work so far has been my help towards the Annual Conference 2024 in Cardiff. The Conference was a great success, and it felt amazing to be able to help in the running of the event as well as helping to increase the number of attendees and presenters. A great part about that experience was to finally be able to faces to some of the people I have met within the Society and learn what diversity of backgrounds comprise our membership base.
Overall, my time thus far with BSSS has been incredible and I have learned and developed a lot of skills that will help me massively to develop my career going forward.
The British Society of Soil Science were proud to lead the development of the Level 7 Soil Scientist Apprenticeship and it is with pleasure that we report the first cohort is underway at Cranfield University, Bedfordshire.
The Soil Scientist Apprenticeship will equip and upskill organisations with the knowledge, understanding, tools, practices, and resources to achieve optimal soil management. It will deepen knowledge of soils across diverse land-use contexts, delve into cutting-edge technologies for effective decision-making, showcase best practice in analysing soils on and off site, and help you build the personal competencies you need as a soil scientist. On completion of the programme, students will acquire a Soil Scientist Apprenticeship and a Master’s Degree in Soil Science. They will also attain Technical Membership of the Society.
You can find more information about this here.
