The last 12 months have been quite the experience for me, as I’m sure they have for you. While the world has been falling apart, hit with crisis after crisis, it’s been nothing but smooth sailing for Malique.

Throughout the last year of my human resources apprenticeship, I’ve built a skillset and relationships, with almost every aspect of my life developing on a straight upward trajectory. I came into last September blind, unsure but still hopeful and excited. I knew virtually nothing but the basics. But life is cyclical and while I enter this September, wholly changed and confident in the skills I’ve developed, the challenges on the horizon energise me.  

I’ve spent the last year thriving in recruitment, and I work comfortably in my role; I know what I’m doing, speak confidently about my industry, and can talk at length about the current market. But there are various duties I must learn from scratch as a novice again as I embark on the next stages of the rotation in my apprenticeship, from processing Payroll to HR Assessments, Permits, and all the necessary laws and standards that come with it. I am agonisingly aware of my shortcomings, and they seem pretty daunting at this stage. Still, I’ve been here before, and I’m excited about the new challenges that lay ahead in the second year of my human resources apprenticeship. 

But again, as life is cyclical, there’s no doubt in my mind that as I’ve grown comfortable with what I’ve learned so far, I’ll be here next year writing about the next set of skills I’ll be tackling after succeeding in the new ones achieved this year. It’s all just growing pains. It’s fulfilling to have a clear direction and set of goals to reach them and a team that supports me through these learning moments. Whenever I look back, the progress I’ve made so far is apparent to me, and I look forward to another retrospective to see how far I’ve come a year from now as well.  

Malique Richards  is the current  Tomorrow’s HR Talent Apprentice , working with the Nova Recruitment team during a 2-year rotational program . Throughout his apprenticeship, he learns all there is to know about HR & Recruitment here in Cayman.