Jolie Haywood – Level 3 Events Assistant

Name: Jolie Haywood

Course Name: Level 3 Events Assistant

Course Type: Apprenticeship

Image Caption: NWSLC student Jolie Haywood Level 3 Events Assistant

After a busy two years as an events apprentice, Jolie, 19, from Ibstock in Leicestershire, has just successfully completed her Level 3 qualification and is on track for an exciting future in events and marketing.

Starting at the age of 17, Jolie had been looking for an apprenticeship that would enable her to put the skills she had learned in her business diploma to the test. She spotted the opportunity to join the MIRA Technology Institute (MTI), a specialist training facility for the automotive sector, and one of the five NWSLC campuses, and joined as an event apprentice on the day the centre opened its door for the first time in 2018.

Jolie has enjoyed an incredibly busy role looking after a range of exciting events at the MTI which included hosting a global meeting of the HORIBA MIRA board, welcoming Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson MP, and celebrating the first anniversary celebration of the MTI itself.

Jolie said, “I have gained first-hand experience in all aspects of events management including external exhibitions when the MTI attended the Advanced Engineering Show at the NEC, and also WorldSkills in 2018 just a few weeks after I had started my job. I think my favourite event was TeenTech because it involved so many different elements and we worked with school students as well as employers. And I got to meet Dallas Campbell which was a bonus.

“As I joined a very small team, I also learned about front of house duties, and how to use software to operate the technology at our state-of-the-art facility including Clevertouch and Sedeo TV.”

Working closely with the HORIBA MIRA and NWSLC marketing teams, Jolie was also able to take part in work shadowing and has also completed a Level 3 NVQ in marketing alongside her apprenticeship.  Jolie completed her end point assessment on Zoom during which she was required to answer 15 questions. Her family had to make some changes to their arrangements that day as Jolie’s Mum has been sharing the kitchen diner while working from home during the coronavirus lockdown. Jolie’s plumber brother had to take a break from the noisy work of installing a new bathroom in the house while her assessment took place.

Jolie was delighted to achieve distinction grades across the board for her business project, portfolio of evidence, professional discussion, and overall grade. She said, “I really enjoy events and I am pleased to have been able to gain skills in marketing too. The new role will give me plenty of scope to discover where I want to specialise in the future.”

Lisa Bingley, Operations Director at the MTI said, “We are really proud of what Jolie has achieved in such a short time. She hit the ground running right from the start and quickly became a valued member of the team, taking every opportunity to try out new skills and learn as much as she could. This has been an exceptionally difficult year for everyone, but Jolie used her time during lockdown to excel with her project and portfolio work, and she has shown extra dedication to gain an additional qualification in marketing at the same time. Through her hard work and commitment, Jolie has put herself in the best position to do extremely well in her future career.”