Life at NCFE: what it’s like to work in Customer Services as a young person

I want to shine a spotlight on some of our young talent who are thriving in their roles here at NCFE and, specifically, on two promising young colleagues whom I have the privilege of line managing within my Customer Services team (CST) – Freyja and Aidan.  

There are countless benefits to having young people working within our CST unit, including how their perspectives and fresh ideas on ways of working can help us to become more efficient and understand the needs of our customers in new ways.  

In return, Customer Service is a great place for young talent such as Freyja and Aidan to learn, develop, and build their skills in preparation for the exciting careers they have ahead of them. 

I recently sat down with both of them to hear about the reasons they chose to join us at NCFE, as well as learn more about their future career aspirations.   

Q: What is your name, job role and your age? 

Freyja: Freyja Brown, Customer Support Agent, and I’m 18 years old. 

Aidan: Aidan Ripken, Customer Support Advisor, and I’m 21 years old. 

Q: What made you want to apply for a job at NCFE? 

Freyja: Before working at NCFE, I was working for a company that didn’t value their staff. After speaking to some of my friends (now colleagues) who worked for NCFE, it sounded too good to be true with regards to how much their staff were valued and prioritised, as well as the opportunities to develop and progress both personally and in my career. 

Aidan: I have a friend who recommended me for the role. In all honesty, I was a little sceptical at first, thinking it was just another big call centre with no development opportunities – but as I learnt more about the role and how staff members are treated, I became really interested and wanted to know more. I then did a bit of research on the website into NCFE’s core values and behaviors, and this really appealed to me and was what I wanted from a place of work. 

Q: What things do you most enjoy about your job and is there anything you’ve found challenging? 

Freyja: I really enjoy the variety in my job – no two days are the same in Customer Support. You get to see first-hand what so many different areas of the business do and learn so many different things about the customer’s journey.  

It can be challenging dealing with certain queries – especially unfamiliar ones – but there’s always enough support within the team, or wider teams, to help. 

Aidan: The thing I enjoy the most is the satisfaction of a customer after a call. I enjoy it when they are audibly happy with how you’ve helped them, and it motivates me to help everyone to the best of my ability. 

The main challenge I faced was the amount of information when first coming in, as it’s not like other contact centres. I managed to get through this with the support from my manager and colleagues, and I feel as if I am performing well now because of this. 

Q: Do you have any future career aspirations? 

Freyja: I don’t have a specific career path in mind; however, I love to develop myself and continue to learn, and NCFE provides plenty of opportunities to do so! 

Aidan: As strange as it sounds, I have never really set myself goals for my career and I have always been unsure about what I want to do – but I know in my head that I can go far at NCFE, so I’m set on working as hard as I can to see where I can go within the company. 

Q: Would you encourage other young people to work for NCFE? If so, why? 

Freyja: Yes, 100%. In general, don’t think enough young people are given the chance to excel in the workplace due to lack of experience etc. However, NCFE gave me the opportunity and more, and I'm so grateful they did.   

Aidan: I believe that NCFE is a great place for young people to work. Its training program is amazing, and you’ll be surprised with how much information you learn in a short space of time without even realising it! I also feel that the support network around you would be amazing for a first job. There are so many different people and teams you can reach out to for absolutely anything and they will always listen to and help you. 

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank both Freyja and Aidan for their hard work and willingness to learn and develop in their first months at NCFE.  

Freyja has a great understanding of the education system, really understands the needs of our customers, and has also demonstrated building some great relationships across the business.  

Aidan has gained so much knowledge in a short space of time, is great with our customers and I can see him being a great support for others in the future. 

Through regular weekly catch ups, I’m able to support both individuals, understand where they’d like to develop and answer any questions that they have about NCFE, our products and services, and our values and behaviours as an organisation – and I’m definitely looking forward to supporting them as they continue to thrive. 

If you’re a young person interested in exploring career opportunities at NCFE, visit our Careers homepage.