Career Profiles

Anna Miotk

Anna Miotk, who is working towards a Level 2 NVQ in Retail at World of Whiskies, London Heathrow, has earned the praise and respect of her managers and her VT Training Vocational Coach, Elaine Anderson.

Elaine says: “Anna is from Poland and although she’d studied English at High School, she found the reality of speaking English very different. The first person she spoke to in the UK was a policeman, who couldn’t understand a word she was saying!

About Apprenticeships


Apprenticeships are nationally designed training programmes. They offer employees the opportunity to enhance their skills through a combination of work-based learning and training.

There are two levels of Apprenticeship available:

  • Apprenticeship (Level 2)
  • Advance Apprenticeship (Level 3)

Both programmes lead to a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ), a Key Skills Qualification and in certain areas, a Technical Certificate Award.

Market Sectors

Covered Working in partnership with Learning and Skills Councils (LSC), BAA Retail Academy together with VT Training provide Government funded Apprenticeships in the following sectors:

  • Retail
  • Customer Service
Since then, she has shown tremendous application and dedication in building her skills both in English and for her NVQ. Just three months from beginning her training programme, she took on communication roles. She gets involved in as many aspects of the business as she can. She is part of the Steering Group for World of Whiskies and responsible for communicating any customer service changes to the team at the store. She has also just taken the role of Health and Safety Rep for the outlet, which involves giving fire training to all new staff and is shortly to train as a first aider.

It was Anna who took the initiative to study for an NVQ under the Train to Gain scheme and she pushed her manager for the chance to take part until it was agreed. The management is now very supportive of her and are not only considering a promotion for her, but are also looking at funding further training for a Level 3 NVQ.

Anna’s role is Customer Service Specialist and she offers customers detailed product knowledge on a wide range of whiskies and cigars. She’s an ideal student – seeking out reference and support materials from libraries, always doing her homework on time, eager to learn and able to take all feedback positively. Recently, she undertook additional library research in order to complete a case study for her course, which she subsequently delivered to a very high standard.
She is very professional in her approach.

She is also a fantastic team member and popular with colleagues, which helps to create a welcoming atmosphere at her shop. She has all the attributes to go on to a very successful career in retail.”