Day in the life… business apprentice Yassin

Yassin works at Spec–Care Services in the south west of England. He is a Business Administration’ BTEC Level 3 apprentice. Yassin’s boss Rob says, “Yassin has a passion for business development and the optical world has helped develop his career. He is a shining light for apprenticeships and without doubt a star business person of the future.”

Describe your typical day

My typical day involves helping run the office department. I attending to tasks from dealing with customers, answering email and telephone queries to engaging with suppliers. I also manage our database entry system using Excel as well as account management software like Sage50.

Some of these systems may require certain activities like setting up accounts and paying suppliers.

What do you start with every day?

First thing in the morning, I would greet my colleagues and get my work face on! Then, I begin by discussing with my manager what the plan for the day is, what to prioritise and delegate the necessary tasks to my colleagues while smoothly running operations.

What do you love about your job?

What I love about my job is the great people I get the opportunity to work with. Being able to work with people whom you can rely upon makes my job much easier thanks to the team’s great chemistry and hard work. At Spec-Care we have a dynamic team made up of great people with different skills and capabilities making me appreciate the people around me.

My interest bases around business development and administration which has given me a new outlook on things since entering the optics world. Having had the opportunity to attend and exhibit at an optical conference my interest in optics began to drastically increase thanks to this opportunity to meet new people and network with others.

I had the grand opportunity of writing an Optician Awards submission for my business and we ended up winners of the Technology Supplier of the Year award. This accomplishment made me realise the effort and hard work that the team and I have been putting was paying off.

What are the challenges?

The main challenge of this role is time management. There are many tasks to be done during the day and sometimes, it can’t all be done on the same day.

Being in an apprenticeship, I must also remember to have a reasonable amount of time to do my course work which sometimes proves to be a little difficult due to busy working periods.

What do you do to wrap up the day and prepare for the next one?

I end my days by updating sales ledgers, emailing invoices, monitoring, and checking communications. Also, being a healthcare provider, I ensure our working stations are clean are ready for the next day.