Kate Hannon and Ellen Bond. March 2022.

National Apprenticeship Week is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

I remember back in the olden days when I was starting work and after finishing at college, I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do. If the apprenticeship scheme was available back then, it would have prevented so many poor job choices for me!  I always assumed apprenticeships were only for tradesmen or mechanics, so it’s great to know that the jobs I thought were completely out of reach when I was a wide-eyed and ambitious 18-year-old are now completely accessible to everyone.

At Amber Family, we are great supporters of the apprenticeship scheme, which means that we have apprentices peppered throughout the business.  They are working in settings with our families and in the office, alongside attending College or University.  Our apprentices are key parts of our business, and we couldn’t be without them.

Apprenticeships have been around since the early nineteen hundreds, with some of the most common types of apprenticeships originally being things like dressmaking, engineering and carpentry. Nowadays, the most common types of apprenticeships are business administration, childcare, construction and health and social care.  An apprenticeship allows you to combine work and study. This benefits the learner, as it provides the practical skills of the workplace alongside the theoretical skills learned in the classroom.

Here are a few words from Ellen, who recently left school to complete an apprenticeship instead of attending college.

I am currently completing my Level 3 Business Administration Apprenticeship, working in the Amber Family offices.  My school had not told me that an apprenticeship was an option after leaving school, it always seemed to me that college was my only option. I didn’t know that it was possible for me to do an apprenticeship until I had left school and started to do some of my own research. I had applied for two of three college courses, but I had figured out that I did not really want to go to college full-time, so an apprenticeship seemed like the most sensible thing for me to do. I would be earning money, whilst still learning, and gaining experience in the workplace.

I attend college once a month. I thought that this would be once a week, to begin with, but due to Covid restrictions, the college had decided that they would only hold the sessions once a month. On top of this, a part of my apprenticeship consists of one day a week to complete my college work in the office. For this, I have to put together evidence for my end-point assessment. I find this work to be manageable, and lots less demanding than what I expect A Levels are!

Although I enjoy being in the workplace, I do think that I would personally benefit from college being held on a weekly basis. I find that being the youngest member of the team is difficult at times, and I do miss socialising with people in my own age group. At the same time, I am gaining lots of real-life experience by being around people with more knowledge of the sector.

An apprenticeship is very different to a college. Most apprentices are only entitled to the same amount of annual leave as their colleagues, which can be demanding when you are not used to working full-time. Although when you start an apprenticeship, you know that you will not be entitled to a half-term. it is hard to imagine what working full time is like when all you have had is a part-time job alongside school, but so far, I have learned so much and made some great friends.

Although not everything about an apprenticeship is perfect, I’m sure neither is college. I do think that if you are not sure about what career path you want to take, an apprenticeship is perfect, as experience in any workplace, is useful.