My first month at CDN
Jade Urquhart joined CDN as a Modern Apprentice at the end of 2019. She tells us about her first month…
I joined CDN in Stirling on 2 December 2019 as a Business Administration Modern Apprentice. The people are all warm and welcoming, which more than makes up for the early morning starts.
In my mere three-week tenure here I have already dealt with a rather unexpected trip to Edinburgh Zoo with Kenji, Lead of Digital and Innovations, which was an amazing experience. When else in life do you have the opportunity and the privilege to rub elbows with the all-stars of the college sector and see penguins in the same place?
Since starting here, I have also taken part in several meetings as a note-taker and transcriber for Vicky, Head of Leadership and Governance, and also for Ann, Lead of Employability and Key Sectors, and the various networks they are a part of. It is always fascinating to hear what pies CDN has its fingers in!
This is my first time working in an office. Prior to this I spent a year helping my mother renovate houses and before that I was a professional cookery student at Forth Valley College. Both of these occupations are about as different to office work as chalk to cheese, both of which I have been covered with during my previous occupations! I felt a bit like a fish out of water for the first few days at CDN, without pots and paints to lug around, and the urge to shout “Yes Chef!” when someone asks me to complete a task is a hard instinct to resist.
The other great (terrifying) thing about starting a job in December is the untold joy (horror) of all the unplanned social interaction surrounding office Christmas parties, as you see CDN is not alone in its headquarters at Airthrey Castle. The castle plays host to several other companies who I had the pleasure of interacting with at the Christmas get-together one Friday before Christmas, and if you are a rather shy introverted person like myself this may seem like a rather daunting challenge!
Working at CDN so far has been fun and just what I needed, and I hope that going forward into the New Year when I meet with my college assessor from Forth Valley College it will continue to be as good an experience.
