To mark National Apprenticeship Week, we’re reflecting on how giving someone the opportunity to develop, learn and grow through an apprenticeship, really can make a massive difference to their life and future career opportunities.
Across the Network, we have a broad range of apprentices in roles that include: Learning Experience Designer, Case Handler, Junior Payroll Assistance and Digital Marketing.
We spoke to one of our apprentices, Tion Gibbs about his experiences so far as a Digital Marketing Apprentice
“My first passion is boxing. I’ve been competing since the age of 11 and I’ve been successful in reaching Professional status. However, I realised that this wasn’t a career that could sustain me forever and that I needed to find something else, so I didn’t start my apprenticeship until I was 25. I think there’s a common misperception that apprenticeships are for those who are straight out of school or college, but actually they can be for anyone, at any point in their career journey.”
“There’s also definitely some life skills I have taken from the ‘ring’ into being in the working environment while trying to juggle college work. Being calm, focused, motivated and contributing to a team; I never want to feel like I’m letting people down.”
“While learning and training on-the-job has given me the technical skills I needed as part of my apprenticeship, one of the biggest impacts has been having a mentor. During my time as an apprentice, I had the pleasure of being mentored by the CEO of Fostertalk and the Martin James Foundation – Daniel Croft. He told me to “be comfortable being the newbie and getting things wrong.” This was a significant piece of advice as I’ve always been so confident in the ring, but to begin with at work, I felt really out of my comfort zone. From this, I was able to get more involved in what I was creating and was able to learn at a much quicker rate than I already was because I learnt to accept I wasn’t going to always get it right and that it’s OK to ask questions.”
“I’m now 100% confident that what I have been taught has put me in a great position. With the skills, training and experience that I have been equipped with as an apprentice here, I have been able to pass all five of my exams and have completed my apprenticeship with a distinction, all within the space of one year.”