Ep 2: “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference”

Welcome to the second of our five daily podcasts to celebrate National Apprenticeship week 2025.

Transcript

Uzma Sadiq  0:00  
Good Morning, Morning, Morning. So we're back here for day two of the National Apprenticeship Week, and if you're joining us for the first time, welcome, but we would encourage you to have a listen to day one of the podcast, which we very much enjoyed doing. So today, we're focusing on tips and advice for apprentices in relation to growth mindset and discussing making the most of networking. Our quote of the day is, attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. Starting discussing the growth mindset. So what great. What does it mean to you? Why is it important? 

Paula Sandamas  0:40  
I think, well, this is based, I guess, on the work of Carol Dweck, but it's about that belief that your abilities and your talents can be developed and improved. You know, if you embrace challenges, if you learn from mistakes, you foster curiosity, it can improve your performance. So I think having that positive attitude and that growth mindset will mean that as an apprentice, you're going to be more successful, so you get more out of it in that way. So what do you think it is, and why do you think it's important? 

Uzma Sadiq  1:15  
It's the growth mindset. It's that openness to learn and develop and grow, and I think it's important that we're given the opportunity to do so and the safe space to do so as well. And I think, you know, we're working in a in an environment where it's all about learning, it's all about growing, it's all about moving forwards. You know, not just through technologies, behaviors, attitudes, that culture change, which happens all the time, and being part of it.

Paula Sandamas  1:44  
That's the thing about apprenticeships, isn't it? It is a space where you're expected to learn and develop. So it goes back to what you were saying about that safe space, but, but it's about being positive about you know, if things aren't quite right, it's fine. You can reflect on them and learn from them, and any experience, no matter if it's good or bad, you're going to learn from that, and you're going to grow in and develop from that. So I think it's, you know, it's just keeping going, keeping going and being positive about the fact that you can change. It is possible, over time, to develop and change. So what about sort of practical advice for people that might be wanting to develop that growth mindset? Have you got any thoughts on that?

Uzma Sadiq  2:32  
Oh, definitely. I mean, just don't be scared to fail. You know, don't be afraid to make a mistake. Life is full of mistakes. You're not going to learn unless you've done something that hasn't worked because you don't know it's not going to work. If every time you do something it's right, every time, what are you learning from it? You know? So I think, yeah, just be willing to make a mistake and learn from that mistake. 

Paula Sandamas  2:55  
I think for me, it's about that positive self talk. So you know, if, if something doesn't go to plan, it's oh, you know this, and letting those thoughts fester is going to stop you from trying again. And that's really what we want with apprentices, is, is we want you to try things out. You know, it's about having a go, trying things, having an idea, seeing if it were doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be tried. And if you don't try, that's when that's failure straight away, isn't it? So I think thinking about, for our apprentices, it's about, you know, trying to be positive about it, keep that, that self taught, that negative self talk, keep that at bay.

Uzma Sadiq  3:47  
It's not just the apprentice. It's that department. You know, if you're not going to give it a go, if you're not going to have that open mindset, to be inclusive, to try to diversify, you're not going to move forward, you're not going to fill those skills gaps, you're not going to learn more. You're not going to be able to share more. I mean,

Paula Sandamas  4:06  
I was, I was listening to something around kind of the future of work, and obviously, with all the developments in technology and everything that's happening in the workforce and and in the world at large, change. There's so much change isn't there with that. You need the skills to be able to adapt to that change, and having that growth mindset is going to be one of the things that that helps to manage that change and and respond to it. And I think for me, it's also around looking at any failure, I don't really want to use that word, but failure as feedback. That's feedback, isn't it? You know, if you've done something and it's not gone to plan, it's reflecting on, well, actually, I know now that that doesn't work, and I'm going to do it differently. And then it's also on the other side. It's. Celebrating those successes. So those things that have gone really well, it's really making sure that we celebrate those successes, and that will help us with that positive, you know, positive talk and that growth mindset, just like this podcast, we've been talking about it for a while, but we really wanted to embrace that challenge, and probably not perfect, but we learn from it and we move on. And I'm sure some somebody will get some inspiration from it. So shall we move on to networking? So I hate the word networking, and I know lots of people do, but you know, what is it and why is it important.

Uzma Sadiq  5:40  
I think it's something you grow into. You grow and you learn this as time goes on. What does it mean for you? What do you want to get out of it? What are the opportunities there, and how do you want to be portrayed? Because sometimes you're quite conscious, you know, is this the right environment I'm in or not? But unless you go in and you try it, you don't know it's not what you know, it's who you know. And you're not going to get to know people unless you network as they say and introduce yourself and introduce yourself into a new setting and share and listen. Because it's not just about it's not just about listening, it's about taking the opportunity to share your knowledge and skills and ask those questions that you may have in a safe environment. So sometimes starting off in a smaller network, whether it's within your team or or the wider team, or your department or your counter departments, but take an active role, step up. You know, it's really important to do that, but how does it work for you? Have you found it?

Paula Sandamas  6:49  
 Just thinking about our apprentices, we obviously do our termly meeting, so we get bring all our early career apprentices together, and that's a really good opportunity for them, and all they they're all in different departments, doing different apprenticeships, but just being able to share that experience about, you know, what they're experiencing, what's worked well for them. It's helping other people to develop from that. And I think what's also and we do that the same with the existing staff that are doing apprenticeships, we kind of bring them together so that they can support each other. It's a support network, isn't it? But I think what's really important is about making sure that you make the most of opportunities to broaden your understanding and your knowledge. Otherwise, what you're doing is you're operating in a really small space. You're just aware of what's going on in your department or your team, whereas, if you take those opportunities to just be curious, you know, find out what other people are doing. Because that actually at UCL, that's really helped me. I've moved around. I've done lots of jobs here, but actually it's the people that I've met through, you know, my previous roles. Actually, sometimes that helps me with this role, because if I'm I've got a problem, or I've got a challenge, or I want to find out bit more information about somebody I know, somebody I can speak to, and it helps me with my job. And I know we do a lot, don't we, with other apprenticeship managers within the higher education space, but also more broadly, and that's really helped us, hasn't it? Like hearing from them

Uzma Sadiq  8:33  
That reminds me that the enrichment activities that we're continuing to do and and trying to embed within our delivery of our apprenticeships, one we did last year with the technical community out at with Southampton University. Again, the network, our network of apprenticeship leads in. He to then work with other apprentices, not just locally, but nationally, within our region more so, and to get out and meet them. And I think they found that extremely well. I know they found that extremely valuable to not just meet other apprentices, but as they said themselves, it was apprentices from he who were understanding of the environment they're working in, and then to break that down into the areas they were studying, whether that be engineering or in the lab technicians, or anything like that. It was that opportunity to speak to them and see how it worked in their environment. So they then built their own network with their peers. And that was, you know, extremely valuable, absolutely.

Paula Sandamas  9:39  
...and I think talking to other people, it can inspire you. Can't it, you know, find out about things that they're doing in their organization or in their team, or, you know, to maybe think about how you can apply that in your area and in your role to make improvements. It's the big event that I. Still find really can be quite intimidating. You walk into a big room and they always say, Oh, get a coffee. And, you know, network before we start. And you just walk into this room and there's this sea of people all in little groups, talking to each other. And I think that's always really challenging, isn't it? And can be intimidating. One of the things I did start to do, it's a bit more natural now, but just to have a few little questions up my sleeve, where I could just go and join a group and say, oh, so have you been to an event like this before? Where are you from? What are you hoping to find out today? And that starts a conversation. And I think, you know, if you ask a question, people love to talk about themselves, don't they? So if you ask a question, that can kind of get the get it going, but it takes. It does take some effort, really, but you're going to get much more out of an event if you're talking to people, than just going listening to people speaking at you in the income away again.

Uzma Sadiq  11:02  
 You hitthe nail on the head. There it is about going into that unfamiliar environment sometimes, or just a very intimidating environment, especially when it looks like everybody knows each other. And it is having those questions, having those few key questions I am, what do you do? This is where I'm from, or they often have a name tag on it, and you'll have a look at their name tag, oh, you know, and try and find some sort of commonality so you can start the conversation. But yeah, it does feel a bit awkward when you're standing around. You're thinking, which group am I going to go, yeah, and join, and yeah, smiling. And it feels like you become a bit of a performer. Yes, yeah, it's a bit of a performance. But it's not that you get used to it. I think you get used to understanding which questions to ask and how to approach different situations, but it's something you learn, and you have to get out of your comfort zone. And although it may seem quite natural to some people, they are actually zoned in in a different way, to just go and do what they've got to do. 

Paula Sandamas  12:08  
There's lots of networks, aren't there national networks that they can join so that they can connect with apprentices up and down the country doing lots of different things, and just learn from them and their experiences. But I think a lot of those networks also they put on events, so there's additional activities that they do with those individuals. And I know one of our previous apprentices, he was part of a national network, and he got to meet MPs, where they spoke about their experiences as apprentices, and really could influence what was happening in that in that area. And also they used to put on additional activities, such as interview skills or presentation skills, which can be a really big part of the apprentices learning is they have to do presentations as part of their apprenticeship. So it's a really good resource that people can tap into. And I know that there's a lot of our existing staff that are doing apprenticeships. The training providers put on fireside chats or master classes so they can expand their knowledge. So it's not just about, I'm going to go along to this because it's, you know, something that I have to do for my apprenticeship. It's actually, it's that curiosity again, isn't it? It's it's expanding, and it's learning just for the sake of learning, rather than because I need that to pass my apprenticeship. And that's really that comes back to that growth as well, isn't it being curious and and really helping you to develop as an individual.

Uzma Sadiq  13:52  
I think, on that just to, just to add the fact that it's part of their off the job training, you can add it to your off the job training and the opportunities you get, and you do have to get out of your comfort zone, don't you? Yeah, yeah. And I know one of our apprentices, you know, they were always encouraged to go and join different meetings and networks and things, and they were quite reluctant to, and actually, they were pushed to do it. And now they love it, and they can see the value of it. And it's then, you know, getting to that point you actually understand the value of the networks, yeah, and choosing the right ones to go to the suit you and what the career pathway You're going down, or information that you need to get? 

Paula Sandamas  14:30  
Yeah, yeah, learning, yeah. 

So anything else in terms of practical things that apprentices can do around either growth mindset or networking that we haven't covered. 

Uzma Sadiq  14:47  
I think we've touched on the important things. It is the fact that be brave, join them and have those questions ready. Have a few key questions that you have ready. And to ask, and you know, if it means taking a colleague along with you your first few networks, that's fine, because that's your safety blanket, isn't it, until you start building up and do make connections, you know, take people's emails, you know. And a lot of people do LinkedIn, I know, and join on people's LinkedIn and hear what's going on and increase your knowledge through that. 

Paula Sandamas  15:25  
It's that curiosity, really, and it's, I think a lot of people, I used to work in a school years ago, and I used to have a lot of students saying to me, Oh, what do I need to do to get into this university? Or what do I need to do if I want to study this subject? And it's like, well, actually, you just need to be curious about it and show that passion and show that curiosity. And I think that's that advice is applicable. Here it is about just being really interested in learning new things and broadening your your knowledge and expanding on that. So I think that's it. Thank you for listening. We're really enjoying sharing our thoughts with you. If you want any more information about these topics, there are some links to some resources in the notes and on the screen. Hopefully, what we've shown you is that attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference, and you've got some ideas to take forward, and we look forward to chatting some more tomorrow and sharing some of our wisdom. So thanks everyone. Bye. Now. Thank you. You.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai