Before my apprenticeship, I considered going to university when I was in sixth form — I applied to five different ones to do motorsport engineering.
At the end of my A-Levels, I decided to decline all offers and get a job straight away, as I just knew university wasn’t for me. I wanted to get straight into work, and I landed my first job as a junior race technician at Ric Wood Motorsport just three days after I finished my last exam. Here, I was able to work on some amazing race cars and go to secret track events.
At the time, this was my dream job. However, I soon realised that this wasn’t what I wanted to do full-time. Therefore, I went ahead and looked for apprenticeships in areas I also had a passion for, and I found an opportunity in digital marketing at Assetz Capital. Choosing this company was just right for me, as I already had a little bit of understanding about the finance world, and I had always wanted to learn more, so being able to work in a creative and financial job was perfect!
What makes an apprenticeship so great is that no two days are the same. I could be creating an email campaign one day, and the next I could be sitting in a virtual classroom learning about coding and creating my own website.
As part of my apprenticeship, I also have three tests to complete, on the principles of online and offline marketing (which I have now passed with a 97% pass mark), the principles of coding, and analytics. Once I’ve passed these three exams, I will need to submit my portfolio containing evidence of new learning, projects and more. At the end, I have an interview and an end point assessment. If successful, I will have earned my Level 3 in Digital Marketing.
For me, choosing an apprenticeship was the perfect decision. As well as being able to earn money and have no debt from university, I get to keep learning and earn a Level 3 qualification. It also means that I am able to connect the things I learn in the classroom and bring them to my working environment. Not only that, it has given me more confidence in myself and helped me to work more independently.
I would 100% recommend people to consider and investigate apprenticeship vacancies — even if their college/sixth form doesn’t promote it as much — as it is such a great opportunity. There are so many different apprenticeships out there and it’s perfect if university isn’t for you.
Some advice I would give to anyone looking to start their career in an apprenticeship is to make sure you do some research into the industry/company you are going to work for and get ahead of the game; doing some small online courses could also help your chances of being selected.
As seen on Development Finance today- https://developmentfinancetoday.co.uk/article-desc-9415_%E2%80%98What%20makes%20an%20apprenticeship%20so%20great%20is%20that%20no%20two%20days%20are%20the%20same%E2%80%99
