As a Customer Service Practitioner apprentice, you will learn about providing effective customer service via various communication forms including face to face, over the phone, digitally and written methods to businesses and other organisations.

The main role of a customer service practitioner is to deliver high quality products and services to the customers of organisations. You may be delivering customer service from your workplace, digitally and online, or through going out to customers in the local area.

You could be delivering customer service to one off contacts or more routine regular contacts and clients.

Typical roles and responsibilities as a Customer Service Practitioner include-

• Dealing with orders

• Dealing with payments

• Offering advice, guidance and support

• Meeting and greeting clients and customers

• Dealing with sales

• Fixing problems

• Dealing with after care from a service

• Gaining insights of customer satisfaction by gathering customer feedback

• Providing services in line with your organisation standards and strategy, which will vary from organisation to organisation.

• Working to communicate with customers in a variety of situations including face to face, telephone, post, email, text and social media.

• Passing on your product and service knowledge and expertise to customers

As a Customer Service Practitioner, good communication and interpersonal skills are of upmost importance as you will often be the first point of contact for a customer. This involves using listening and questioning skills to establish rapport which will allow you to go on and determine customer needs and expectations and meet them effectively. The way in which you communicate will inform the customer experience and the initial first impression a customer has of the organisation you work for. This in turn will impact business productivity and success.

As an apprentice you need to be employed for at least 30 hours a week.

This apprenticeship is assessed by an End Point Assessment (EPA), made up of three parts including-

• Apprentice Showcase- This is compiled after 12 months of on programme learning. It allows you as an apprentice to reflect and present examples of your development over the course of the programme. You will select examples from your on programme portfolio to support this element of the End Point Assessment.

• Practical Observation- This involves you as an apprentice being observed in your workplace setting by an independent assessor. It will enable you to showcase the skills, knowledge and behaviours from the standard through your day to day duties. This needs to last approximately one hour.

• Professional Discussion-This involves taking part in a structured discussion with an Independent Assessor after your observation, to demonstrate your understanding of the job role and the application of the knowledge , skills and behaviours. This needs to last approximately one hour.

You will also be building up a portfolio of evidence throughout the duration of the programme to support you with your End Point Assessment.

For more detail on the Apprenticeship standard for this qualification visit the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

This course prepares learners for further training and can lead on to further study at College such as the Customer Service Specialist Level 3 Apprenticeship.

Upon completion you can progress into full time work within the customer service sector, roles can vary widely but can include the following to illustrate some examples:

• Barista

• Cinema Attendant

• Beauty Consultant

• Sales Representative

• Hotel Porter

You can discover all the opportunities available to you by exploring the full list of careersin the industry.

To study this Apprenticeship you must:

• Have an enthusiasm for the subject area

• Enjoy working with other people

• Have a commitment to study

• Be able to work independently and as part of a team

• Good communication and interpersonal skills

• Ability to work well under pressure and deal with conflicts that can arise

4 GCSES at Grade 3/D or higher including English and Maths or Functional Skills Level 1.

Or the ability to demonstrate skill to this level through initial assessments.

If you would like to enquire for this Apprenticeship, please click 'Enquire' in the top right, follow the steps, and our Apprenticeship Team will be in touch with you. Alternatively, you can explore our current vacancies on the 'Apprenticeship Vacancies' page and apply now.

If you are already employed then please contact our Apprenticeship Team on 01524 521483.

Course code: A30024-A1A