Brogan undertook Damar’s data protection and information governance apprenticeship whilst she worked at the Science Museum Group. In this case study, she tells us about her experience on the programme and in her role.
Why did you decide to do an apprenticeship?
I had been working in information rights and governance for a few years, specifically as a Corporate Information Officer at the Science Museum Group for five years. I wanted to embed the skills that I had gained from my experience, as well as develop the knowledge and professional development that an apprenticeship has to offer. I wanted to challenge myself, see what more I could do and learn from an apprenticeship, and gain confidence.
What activities do you do in your day-to-day role?
Every day is different in my role. I can be working on freedom of information requests, data protection queries, records management in our corporate archive, or providing access to – and protecting – the information we hold as part of the wide range of activities that we do at the Science Museum Group.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I really enjoy the diversity of my role, the difference aspects and responsibilities. I get to jump from thinking about data protection legislation to working on our public records act responsibilities and delving through the 150-year history of our museums.
I also get to work with amazing colleagues with different backgrounds and career perspectives, who are all very supportive and all have something different to offer. I always enjoy the research, learning new things, and the creative aspect our team puts into awareness and training for other colleagues.
How has the apprenticeship impacted on you?
The apprenticeship has definitely had a positive impact on me both professionally and personally. I feel a lot more confident in myself and I feel more comfortable working with other teams and stakeholders. I have also been able to network with different people and groups in our sector through LinkedIn, the specialist webinars and societies like IRMS.
What do you think you’ve contributed to your organisation during your apprenticeship?
During the apprenticeship, I was able to develop professional skills and behaviours as well as grow my confidence. Before I was shy and lacked the confidence to really share my thoughts unless it was in a small group. During the apprenticeship, I found myself reaching out to different internal stakeholders, asking them if I could help in projects and putting myself forward more. My manager, team and coach all saw a new side of me as I grew. I’ve built a deeper connection with my manager as I felt more open to discuss legislation and the updates in the sector. Having that confidence and apprenticeship learning made me see things from a different perspective or consider other pathways.
How have you found working with Damar as your training provider?
I found Damar to be a supportive and friendly training provider. They were always available for any queries or assistance. They also have an apprenticeship forum so we could all discuss our modules, share news or resources. We have group workshops every few months with other cohorts and it was fascinating talking to likeminded people but who work in a different sector. My coach, Tracey, was amazing. She was very kind, knowledgeable and having one-to-ones with her were always informative as we spoke about the news within the sector as well as my professional development. She made sure I had a good work-apprenticeship-life balance as we had dedicated days or times for my apprenticeship along with my regular work responsibilities.
What are your future career plans?
I would like to continue to develop my professional skills by gaining more insight into the sector and using the behaviours I have learnt along the way, such as horizon scanning which is always a useful tool to have. I would also like to explore more around records management and expand my knowledge there and gain more responsibilities in my role.
Damar’s data protection and information governance practitioner apprenticeship
If you’re interested in the apprenticeship programme, either for yourself or your business, take a look at our data protection page.