Boardroom Apprenticeship Scheme: Pushing myself out of my comfort zone

Last year we agreed to be a host board as part of the Boardroom Apprenticeship Scheme sponsored by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. This national programme is a unique board learning, development and placement programme that was developed to enable a wider diversity of individuals to play their part on public boards.

Following an application and selection process, which is managed by the scheme itself, earlier this year we welcomed Jennifer Waterhouse, who works as a Regeneration Manager at the Crown Estate in London, as our apprentice.

In this blog, we caught up with her to understand how she’d found the experience so far.

Why I applied

I initially applied for the scheme as I thought this would be an opportunity to push myself outside of my comfort zone.

I'm a chartered surveyor currently working for the Crown Estate as a development manager. So I do quite a lot of presenting to boards, but I have never sat on one.

I was drawn to the apprenticeship scheme’s ethos, creating a wider pool of potential candidates for boardroom positions. I also wanted to give something back by working in the public or third sector. This seemed like a good way to do it.

Getting placed on the Social Work England board

I applied for the scheme and got placed with Social Work England, the regulatory body for social workers in England. During this time I have been able to understand more about what they do as an organisation. I have attended board and committee meetings, visited social work students at the University of Greenwich, and have been to events that took place as part of Social Work Week.

I think the work Social Work England does is amazing. Their primary focus is to protect the public, but you can also see the support that they give social workers. This includes hosting regular regional and national engagement sessions to support in understanding the professional standards and registration requirements such as continuing professional development.

Collaboration is also key to their work, from co-producing consultations to engaging with social workers to understand the shape of the profession.

How being on the board has developed my skills

Alongside being on the board, the scheme has provided training which has been great for developing my skills. I have learnt skills such as how to sift through information papers, what financial accounts mean, and how to communicate ideas properly.

At first I found board meetings and being in a room with senior people pretty intimidating. I thought everyone would wonder why I was there. But everyone was open to listening to my ideas and comments.

It's been an incredible opportunity. Social Work England has been a really friendly, lovely place to work. Everyone is knowledgeable and really cares about what they're doing.

The scheme has made me realise that pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is good for you. It has really boosted my confidence in delivering high-level strategic work and I have found it way less scary than I was expecting. I’m now looking for my next opportunity to join a board.

Interested in applying to be our next boardroom apprentice?

The Boardroom Apprentice is a national scheme for people who are interested in serving on a public or third-sector board. This unique 12 month programme provides a way for people to learn and gain the experience they need before becoming a board member.

Applications for the 2024 programme open on Monday 4 September and close on Monday 2 October.

View the Boardroom Apprentice website.