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. It’s the perfect way to support my development.
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
