Southwark Report Internals final single

IMPACT
REPORT
Luke Thomas Parish Secretaries Away Day
When I was finally able to get together with
my team in person it was like meeting them
all over again, and they were very welcoming.
I had the opportunity to experience working
with each of my colleagues on a one-to-one
basis, which gave me the chance to get to know
them better, understand their personalities,
and have good conversations to do with work
and with everyday life. The team knew when
to get on with work but we were also able
to enjoy some light banter and went out as a
team occasionally to socialise, and other team
members would join us too, so it was a very
friendly environment.
Over a period, I was able to meet colleagues
outside of my team in person. They were all
very friendly and easy to get along with which
my settling-in period much easier. They offered
great advice and let me know they were here to
help, and I was grateful for that.
I received a lot of support and help when it
came to completing my apprenticeship tasks:
I was given Tuesday afternoon as time just to
focus on that work, which was both beneficial
and crucial for me. I would like to thank Freya
Humphreys for all the help she gave me, the
patience she showed and encouragement too.
She was always there to help and go through
pieces of work so I understood the tasks that I had been set. It
was a pleasure to have her as my tutor.
One of the highlights of my apprenticeship was the Parish
Secretary Away Day for my apprenticeship project this gave me
the opportunity to use my leadership skills and develop project
management skills. I had the help of my whole organisation
for the task. Archbishop Wilson made a special appearance
at the start of the day to welcome everyone and lead us in
prayer, my colleagues in the fundraising team were on hand
to provide support, and many others from HR, Safeguarding,
IT, the Chancery, the Priests Welfare and Property Teams,
Communications, senior administration staff, along with our
Chief Operations Officer and new Vicar General were on hand
to help or to deliver presentations.
There were at points throughout the apprenticeship I came
across a few difficulties, for example, misunderstanding an
instruction or getting a task wrong, but I learnt that the best
thing to do in the circumstance is to always double check and
ask questions. At times it can be difficult to juggle both the
requirements of work and the apprenticeship, but it is possible
develop both patience and organisational skills to help manage
the demands.
There are a number of colleagues that I haven’t mentioned who
played an integral part during my time at the Archdiocese of
Southwark and I will forever be grateful for them.
Luke Thomas.
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