We sat down with Mark Bolan, Apprenticeship Coordinator and Exams Invigilator at Cogent Skills, to learn more about his role, the challenges he’s faced, and what he enjoys most about supporting apprentices on their journey.

What does your role involve?

I’m Apprenticeship Coordinator and Exams Invigilator, which means I work closely with internal and external contacts compiling data to help welcome apprentices and employers and guide them through the onboarding process. Part of this is invigilating and assisting our Exams Officer at our offices in Warrington. At its heart, my role is about making sure apprentices feel support – exams can be a nervy time, after all.

What did you do before you joined Cogent Skills?

I worked as a project coordinator for the installation of 5G masts.

What does a typical day look like?

A typical day usually involves assisting colleagues and staff from other organisations with queries on the OneFile system, as well as preparing onboarding packs for new starters and pulling lots of pieces of information into one place. 

What has been your most enjoyable experience at Cogent Skills?

It’s always great to see the excitement of young people learning new skills and achieving great things. Working with a team of great people who are ready to support you all the way and working for a company which really cares about its employees is a massive part of why I enjoy my role.

And of course winning an award at our recent company away day in Manchester was a highlight!

What has been your biggest challenge?

Probably not having come from an apprenticeship background – it’s been a challenge learning so much about the industry and I am still learning now after two and half years.

What are you looking forward to working on in the year ahead?

We have changed our onboarding process, so I am looking forward to seeing how this evolves in 2025 and being part of it, as well as just continuing to support learners through the final stage of their apprenticeship journey.

How do you spend your time outside work?

I enjoy spending time with my family, I play football weekly (and I watch my son play on Saturdays and Sundays).