Path to Leadership – Kathryn Baker

Our very own CEO, Kathryn, takes us through her hard-working journey that led her to leadership success at SS&L! ✨

School Days

“School days were not the best days of my life. Or I could be more specific, secondary school days were not the best days of my life! Infant and junior years were good, if I remember correctly… it was long time ago now!   

I left full time education after GCSEs at 16, I was the first cohort to take the new GCSE qualification. My plan was to get out of education and get a job. However, most of my friends were going to college or moving up to the sixth form… But there was no way I was going to spend any more time in a classroom! August came and it was time to pick up our GCSE results – unfortunately mine were not worth shouting about. I didn’t have one grade at C or above, I had basically failed in my head.   However, I could touch-type, and I was good at it as my distinction grades proved!” 

First Steps into Employment

“Before my results, I had already been successful in my job application for an Office Junior in a Heating and Ventilation company.  This was a full-time permanent job, and I would be paid £60 per week, by cheque!  This job was more like an apprenticeship, as I was on a YTS (Youth Training Scheme), but rather than a work placement I had permanent employment. Being on the YTS meant that I attended “college” one day per week, and an assessor came into my workplace to observe, review my progress and talk to my supervisor. After about 18 months, I had learnt a lot. I’d learnt how to run payroll for a week on my own while the payroll clerk was on holiday, but I was unhappy – it was time to find something new.   

I applied for a job at Bristol City Council as a Word Processor Operator. I was successful and I continued my YTS with BCC as my new employer. By the end of my YTS I had achieved my L2 NVQ in office studies, alongside several word processing qualifications. As well as my YTS I was attending “night classes” at the local college to learn shorthand.   

I soon moved into administration and secretarial job roles – always keen to take on extra work, to learn the next thing especially has PCs were about to make an entrance into the workplace! I also volunteered to line manage an apprentice in the team to gain more experience.”    

Learning New Skills

“The use of email shortly arrived, and I LOVED it! I was often helping my colleagues with this new tool and soon became the ‘go to’ person if anyone needed guidance in the office. I really enjoyed helping people to learn something new, and this kick-started my thoughts about developing skills to be able to train people to use email and word processing tools. To assist with this, I attended night school and achieved the Teachers’ Certificate in teaching of word processing.   

Soon after, I volunteered to deliver email and word processing workshops for council staff in the IT Training Centre. The training officer was on leave so I would cover her workshops. Eventually a job was created in the centre of ‘IT Training Instructor’ which I applied for and got! By this time, I was 22 years old. I had a good job, earnt more than my friends who had gone to college/sixth form, and had gained so much experience and many qualifications along the way.”   

Path to Leadership

“It became very clear that training and Education was what I wanted to do in my career. By the age of 25 I had achieved my Certificate in Education. I couldn’t believe I had a degree level qualification which had been achieved as part of PGCE group at University of Wales, and I was a Corporate Training Officer specialising in technology.   

My move into the Further Education sector came in 2000. I secured a role as a Quality and Staff Development Officer in Bristol City Council’s Adult and Community Learning department. This was a sideway step, but I wanted to move into what I thought was REAL education as opposed to staff training and development… I wanted to make a difference! 

Overall, the YTS (old school apprenticeship), evening classes and my drive & motivation to succeed enabled me to achieve everything I have today. I have learnt from the good, the bad, and the ugly, whilst learning some quite tough lessons along the way. However, I am grateful for all the experiences that I have had that has led me to my position now. I get to help others achieve their goals and really make a difference to their lives!”  

Kathryn Baker, SS&L Chief Executive Officer  

To find out if a pre-apprenticeship could be right for you, read more information at https://www.sslcourses.co.uk/school-leavers/pre-apprenticeship-16-19/