Apprentice Diaries – Beth

Written by Oliver Muscat on November 7th 2023

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Apprentice Diaries

My name is Bethany Richards (Beth) and I have joined as a Bids & Proposal Apprentice, I have enjoyed my time so far working within the Hargreaves team. Everyone is extremely welcoming and helpful, and I feel I have settled in nicely. My colleagues within my department have an abundance of knowledge and expertise within the HVAC sector and I am looking forward to learning from them throughout my time here. There are many exciting opportunities on offer as well as many fun activities, e.g., Steptember, the Bury 10k etc, this helps to create strong relationships between colleagues within all departments of the business, even if it does get a little competitive. I am certainly enjoying my journey so far and I am excited to see what the future holds for me at Hargreaves.

Assessing The Competition

My role as Bid & Proposal Apprentice consists of winning work for the company, we find contracts online or are contacted directly by the client to invite us to tender for a new upcoming project. In order to create a tender, I will have to analyse drawings and price accordingly depending on specification and scale of the project.

However, before this process can start, as a business we must decide whether the scope of works is suited to our company values and aims. Once this process is complete, we can begin working on pricing the project and presenting it to management as well as the client. After the tender has been submitted, we then go through the process of answering the clients’ questions and queries and wait for a decision. Once the decision is received and we have won the work, we then pass this on to the relevant departments through a handover meeting.

My Education Journey Is Under Way!

My apprenticeship course is a 15-month virtual programme which consists of ten modules such as context of bidding, proposal development, bid and proposal process etc. Throughout the course, I will be set tasks to complete after each session, these tasks will then be collated to form my bid and proposal portfolio that will count towards my end point assessment.

I also must gather evidence such as client emails, phone calls, meetings, site visits etc which will form part of my portfolio. Once I have completed the programme, I will be recognised by the Association of Proposal Management Professionals.

"In my free time I like to stay active and healthy I enjoy going to the gym and walking my dog. My 10-month-old cockapoo Mabel is an extremely energetic puppy who can walk for miles, she has a crazy obsession with her tennis ball and loves to swim. I recently completed a charity walk for Papyrus, a men’s mental health charity with both my mum and Mabel and we hope to complete the longer walk next year. As well as walking and the gym, I have been dancing since a young age and competing. I have been taught in many different dance genres such as Latin and ballroom, tap, ballet, hip hop etc and competed at the world championships, the European championships, The British Isles and many more."

Bethany Richards

Bids & Proposals Apprentice

Track our Apprenticeship journeys

We are tracking the journey of myself and the other apprentices throughout the weeks so make sure you look out for the upcoming stories. For further information about careers and apprenticeships at Exyte Hargreaves, please visit our Careers section.

Careers at Exyte

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