Boost Apprenticeship Case Study - Ellie Steele

Ellie Steele

Job Title: Marketing Manager

Employer: Georgian House

Name of Apprenticeship: Level 4 Hospitality Management

I began working at Georgian House in January 2018 following my degree at The Edge Hotel School.

Prior to my studies at Edge I has already had some casual experience within the  sector working in restaurants and housekeeping as a student which I continued alongside my studies.

My career began at Georgian House as a marketing executive aged just 20 (this was the first marketing role for Georgian House and first job since graduating.) Over the past 3.5 years I have progressed in my role to become Marketing manager in addition to working for Georgian House I also work one day a week for our newest property, Victorian House. 

When I initially went to apply to study hospitality at Edge and not go through UCAS  I was massively discouraged to take this career path. People were very judgmental & assumed a career in hospitality would not allow you to progress and essentially it would be low paid & over worked.

Hospitality is something I have always been passionate about and as you can see with the correct support, development opportunities and trust placed in (a very young Ellie) I have been able to progress my career quicker than I had ever imagined.

Why did you join an apprenticeship through Umbrella Training?

Our relationship with Umbrella Training was established through our previous General Manager following discussions with others in industry.

We were attracted to working with Umbrella as we had heard they provided a high level of training and supportive pathway into apprenticeships, it was this alongside their fantastic involvement and understanding of the industry that led to the initial discussion.

Umbrella's ability to tailor elements of training to our own businesses' needs was an aspect we felt would be most beneficial to our business and has since enabled us to provide numerous amounts of specific, relevant and targeted training to our team. BOOST has been brilliant to us.

What help did Umbrella Training provide? 

Umbrella Training have provided a structured experience throughout, regularly providing resources, guidance and being available when needed for our team members. The way in which the training has been discussed and written based on our individual needs has provided  invaluable reflection and learning experiences for our team.

The extent of industry knowledge the trainers hold has been incredibly valuable and relevant when delivering training for our team. The visible confidence gained through team members working with Umbrella has been hugely clear and has a direct and positive impact at Georgian House.

The relationship between Umbrella and Georgian House has continued to grow and with this relationship our team members have continued to progress and develop their skill set. BOOST was tailored to our pre-opening needs with confidence and, communication and team work.

What progress has been made and how has it effected your life?

The largest benefit is providing me with the ability to have time for self-reflection aside from my everyday role at Georgian House. This in turn has enabled more critical thinking, reflection on problem solving and adopting more creativity when tackling change or challenge.

This experience has been particularly helpful at a time where the industry has recently undergone such immense changes due to Brexit and the impact of Covid-19 and I have found the training to be a great team experience.

A quote from Ellie:

“I have found my experience with Umbrella invaluable, my apprenticeship has enabled me to apply my experiences and think practically in a more people focused manner.

The subjects covered in my training and sessions have provided the opportunity to reflect on situations, decisions and have equipped me with the knowledge to better manage future situations or scenarios within the workplace. Umbrella and their BOOST programme have also enabled me to adopt a more long term, strategic way of thinking across Georgian House as a business not just limited to Marketing”. 

Ellie’s future plans and ambitions? 

In the future I would love to pursue my own business, whether this be working in social media and digital marketing or owning my own ‘Bricks and Mortar’ business such as a coffee shop.

My management apprenticeship and relationship with Umbrella though BOOST has allowed me to solidify my learnings from my career to date and provided formal recognition of my management training and development.

A quote by Dan Power – Ellie’s Advisor

“Working with Ellie and the team at Georgian House has been inspirational.  Boost Hospitality has enabled me as a trainer/consultant to look outside of the boundaries of a formal curriculum and to really focus on the needs of the individuals. 

Having the opportunity to listen to Ellie, really understand where and how she wanted support enabled me to create a bespoke programme for her and the team.  It was such an enjoyable couple of days delivery and I really felt the impact.  I have received some lovely feedback from Florence who in turn saw an immediate impact from the training days”.