Apprentice Speaks

 This week we spoke to a few of our apprentices who are about halfway through their apprenticeships. We asked them why they chose to pursue a Creative & Digital apprenticeship. Here are their thoughts:

 

Mathilde Petford
22 years old
Digital Marketing apprentice with Big Brum Theatre in Education

“Working as an apprentice has been career changing for me. I have long been passionate about theatre and deep down I have always wanted to work in the creative sector. Through a lack of arts education and understanding I put my desires aside and chose to pursue a “normal” career path. I applied to university during my final year of A-levels, changed my mind, took a gap year, changed my mind again and reapplied to university. I enrolled as a History student at Nottingham University in 2014 and quickly knew it was the wrong place for me. After a turbulent year I decided to drop out and looked to pursue another option.

This left me feeling genuinely lost in the world. I was unsure of who I am and where I’m meant to be. I was then offered a six month marketing internship through Creative Alliance with Central Youth Theatre in Wolverhampton. Suddenly, I had my eyes opened to the real possibility that I could work in a job role I thoroughly enjoyed and truly cared about.

Since then, I have been employed through Creative Alliance again with Big Brum Theatre in Education. The apprenticeship scheme is enabling me to study and learn whilst developing as a professional in the theatre industry. I am finally learning in a safe space that feels real, comfortable and suited to me. For the first time, in at least four years, I feel energised about my future and my contribution to the world. “

Luke Dangerfield

21 years old

Swof Media

“The main reason I chose an Apprenticeship in Digital Marketing was because I wanted to be able to take my love for creative media & technology and learn how I could transform that into a comprehensive skillset fit for a career within the industry.

Having grown-up being a heavy consumer of digital media, it’s almost natural to me to use social media, play video games, browse the internet & get excited by the next technological innovations. For me, taking steps to work in this industry was the obvious thing to do.

Looking back, there were many paths I could have taken but the apprenticeship has been the right one. The creative space I’ve been given by my employer is absolutely incredibleL well beyond my initial expectation. Being a practical person, working within a company alongside established professionals is not only a fantastic learning opportunity, but a chance to meet new people & to gain a wonderful sense of purpose.

Within my first 6 months at Swof Media I’ve worked with a range of businesses across multiple work sectors; I’ve built-up new client relationships; I’ve become a main point of contact for specific work and overall tried my hand at a wide spectrum of marketing principles. This has been absolutely awesome.

Up to this point I’ve been managing Social Media accounts, creating promotional artwork in Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign, creating content for company blog pages, designing email campaigns and learnt how to use analytics to adapt and change marketing campaigns.

The brilliant thing is I know I’m only scratching the surface of the marketing world, there is so much more to learn and I couldn’t be more excited. Taking a step out of your comfort zone might seem frightening, but I can’t really describe the satisfaction it has bought me so far.”

 

This is just a snap shot of the passionate, practical and highly effective learners we work with daily. These employers are taking advantage of the apprenticeship programme to grow their business with the right people who have the right attitude.

If you are interested in finding out how an apprenticeship could benefit you then please contact us here