Robyn has written a blog for the current Marketing course she is completing, below is what she has written about what it is like to be an apprentice. We are so proud of how far she has come!
My name is Robyn and I am 18yrs. When I was 17, I decided the best way to kick start my career would be to leave college and start an apprenticeship.
Looking back at this it was a 100% the best decision I have ever made. At first the thought of doing an apprenticeship was scary but I pushed myself to go for it and seeing how much I have grown/achieved makes me so proud of myself for taking this risk.
I joined the VR family when I was 17 years old as an Admin and IT apprentice, my first qualification which I studied here at Virtue was an SVQ Level 5 in Administration.
I found my first qualification a struggle at first as there was a lot of theory involved but luckily, I had my skilled and well qualified peers around me to help me whenever I was struggling. Once I got the hang of the course it was easy to complete.
Having skilled/qualified peers around you when learning is the absolute best way to learn as they can pass over their skills and knowledge down to you and sculpt you into a very experienced young person.
In October 2019 I started my second qualification which was an SVQ Level 6 after being with VR for 5 months. This was another course that I loved doing and whizzed through it.
I finished my level 6 just before the Covid – 19 lockdowns. Being an apprentice during these uncertain times was very scary, like most others I had never worked through a pandemic or thought that I would even need to.
I worked from home from March until the end of May. Although working from home was a very big change and was difficult in every circumstance, I couldn’t have asked for a better team during the pandemic as we all worked as a team to ensure that all the work was done and the business was staying afloat.
After settling back into the office after such uncertain times and working with new restrictions in place I started my 3rd qualification which is my Diploma in Social Media and Marketing which I am doing now and loving it.
In between each course I got to learn new things each day and be responsible for making bookings and dealing with new clients.
Anyone thinking of doing an Apprenticeship to start their career I highly recommend it due to the wild variety of opportunities. They are a great way to gain experience and qualifications while getting paid. Hands-on training gives you a real chance to put your skills into practice and gives you more confidence in a working environment. College and University is not for everyone.
If I think back to the person I was when I started at VR was very shy and timid because I had never worked in the recruitment environment before. With a wide range of experience behind me I have become a more confident person and I am able to handle any situation thrown at me. I couldn’t have gotten to where I am just now without the VR Group, they have helped me become the person I am today and I hope to continue to gain a wider range of skills and qualifications.