If you’re like me and are eager to learn new skills in a job that pays you while you get first hand experience you should strongly consider doing an apprenticeship.
You might be at school and unsure what the future holds for your career. You should upskill yourself and choose to do an apprenticeship. Even if you’re a university student and you think your degree is not all it cracked up to be – consider an apprenticeship and upskill yourself. Similarly, if you’re bored of a dead-end job and you want to challenge yourself with something new – choose an apprenticeship, upskill yourself.
Apprenticeships are a great way to upskill yourself and level up in whatever stage you are of your career.
Here are just a few reasons that I have found on why you should choose to do an apprenticeship:
- You can get hands on experience
- You can choose from a vast array of different career paths
- You’ll get paid
- You’ll learn new skills
- You can form a network of like-minded apprentices
- And finally, you can get qualified!
My own experience doing a digital marketing apprenticeship has been great! Based on what I studied at university, digital marketing was completely different and an exciting career prospect. Being able to do an apprenticeship allowed me to get a foot in the door in the media and advertising industry which was completely different to what I was used to.
The role
Within my new job, I was placed in the Paid Social team. This meant I learnt all about advertising on platforms which I was already using every single day for entertainment and personal consumption, e.g. Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. Within my day-to-day job I was also learning key skills such as data analysis, implementation, media planning and strategy. These skills are invaluable as I’ll be able to develop them throughout my career.
As soon as I started this role I new it was going to be fast-paced and engaging. I’m able to work with huge clients on really exciting briefs and one of the most satisfying parts of the role, is that you can see your work directly while scrolling on Instagram that same day!
The apprenticeship
In addition to to the day-to-day experience I acquired, I was also having training calls with my apprenticeship company. This taught me more than just the skills I needed for Paid Social, but also equipped me with the knowledge of other digital channels, e.g. Paid Search, Display, E-mail Marketing, etc. This means I now have a feel for the different roles available within the advertising industry, should I want to move or upskill myself further in a different department.
As well as training calls in areas such as coding, search engine optimisation and other niche areas to learn about, there were also other perks to the apprenticeship. For example, it gives you access to a network of people who are in similar positions to you, all doing the training together. You get given a coach, who checks in with your progress and makes sure you feel supported along the way. There are also online communities that you can tap into if you need help with anything or want to showcase new ideas.
I’d highly recommend doing an apprenticeship. If you want to learn more about other people’s experience, check out the Apprenticeship Network. You’ll find more first-hand accounts and also a few tips. You can hear from both apprentices and employers to see if this could be something for you!
Upskill yourself with an apprenticeship, you won’t regret it.
