Our New Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Trainee

Meet Vera O’Driscoll, our Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Trainee who has recently joined our Responsible Business Team.

Facilitated by LDN Apprenticeships, the CR&S Level 4 apprenticeship is the first formal training programme for people wishing to pursue a career in the Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability profession. We spoke to Vera earlier this week to find out more about the new role.

What were you doing before you joined Axis?

Having recently graduated from Portsmouth University with a Geography degree, I was on the search to gain some experience to start my career within the sustainability sector. When I found this opportunity on LinkedIn, I was very intrigued that it included the Corporate Responsibility side of the job role, as well as Sustainability. I felt like this would be a great way to expand my knowledge and work in the field at the same time. Having started at the beginning of January 2022, I am very happy and excited to see what my future at Axis has in stall for me!

How are you finding the new role so far?

I am really enjoying it and I have already learnt so much about Axis’ values and how important the job is to the company. I have been lucky enough to meet so many of the Axis team already who are all such lovely people and thankfully very welcoming and helpful to me, which I appreciate greatly. There are so many different aspects to consider within both sides of my job role, so I love that element about the job so far.

Although you’ve only been here a short while, what is your favourite part to date?

This is a very hard question to answer as everything so far at Axis has been so positive. However, I would have to say the people, every single one of my work colleagues have made me feel as if I have been part of the team for years already by being very welcoming and accepting. I think this just shows you how important people are to Axis as a company, as even within our own teams we cherish the sense of community and family and so can portray this value to our clients and the communities we work within.

Tell us a bit more about the traineeship?

My traineeship consists of a mixture between Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability. I will be helping Axis continue to be a responsible business by giving back to the community in many ways, as well as making sure the business is working towards a sustainable future in line with the UK’s net-zero goals. It is a 24-month apprenticeship which includes 1 day a week of learning and the other 4 days working with Axis.

What are your future career aspirations?

My future career goals are quite varied to say the least, but these are a few:

I would like to have successfully gained a lot more knowledge in various sectors but mainly within sustainability, green infrastructure, innovative technologies, and astronomy/planetary science. I wish to have made a major impact with helping reduce the plastic pollution ending up in our oceans in some manner (or to help find a solution for this). Additionally, I wish to volunteer helping with different charities, as well as beach clean ups, green space clean ups and generally making a positive impact within the local community and the environment.

Find more stories about our Trainees and Apprentices here.