Today marks the 11th National Apprenticeship Week in the UK and the theme this year is to showcase how apprenticeships work for individuals, employers, the community, and the wider economy. It seems only fitting to feature the perspectives of all four parties and to understand why apprenticeships are beneficial for all. Nu Image’s apprentice (Emily Smith) and trainer (Rhiannon Chisholm) have contributed towards this article to provide a real-life experience of becoming and employing an apprentice in a digital marketing agency.
Apprentice Perspective
My last six months as an apprentice have been eye-opening, I believe it’s one of the best ways to learn about an industry you’ve never worked in before. With a mixture of on-the-job training and academic studies, I’ve been able to become familiar with the theory and obtain the correct qualifications, whilst gaining first-hand experience in the industry. In addition to this, I’ve received terrific support on both sides; my tutor provides the appropriate resources and extra teaching for my personal studies, at the same time my Nu Image colleagues demonstrate the correct techniques to help me progress in my job role and to become a valuable asset to the team.
Nu Image has created an environment where I feel comfortable to exercise my creativity and suggest new ideas. I’m fortunate to have Rhiannon as a trainer, who has an abundance of specialist knowledge in her field and the patience of a saint; I’m able to ask questions and admit if I’m unsure about anything, knowing that I’ll be rewarded with an explanation that will answer my queries. I’ve learnt more about the online world in the last six months, than I ever did in the years I spent studying for GCSEs and A-Levels.
Employer’s Perspective
Hiring an apprentice has been one of the best decisions we’ve made. As a small business, it wasn’t a decision we took lightly, owing to the training time required and the necessary time out of work in the Academy. However, we had received excellent feedback from other businesses and as a creative business, we’ve learned from experience the potential benefits of bringing in someone with a natural passion for our work. Ultimately, we decided to meet the candidates to get an idea of their level of skill and ability before we made the final decision to take on an apprentice. We interviewed a number of young people and by far, Emily stood out as having a real drive for success and an obvious passion for our industry.
Emily has become invaluable to the business since joining us in September 2017, injecting new enthusiasm and innovation, not only to the Online Marketing team but throughout our creative studio. Emily has been able to learn quickly on-the-job alongside her guided learning with her tutor. She has been adding value to the business since she started and if anyone is considering taking on an apprentice, based on our experience we would highly recommend you do take the plunge and you maybe lucky enough to find yourselves an Emily.
Community Perspective
By employing apprentices, businesses are able to teach more people about their industry and provide apprentices with a new set of skills which they may not have otherwise been given the opportunity to learn. This enriches community knowledge and increases the variety of skills within that community. A large majority of apprenticeships are filled by young people who bring a fresh outlook to the business, as well as everything they’ve learnt in college that may not be practiced by the company already – helping them to advance services and products that the business supplies to the community which, in turn, improves customer experience with that company.
The Wider Economy Perspective
One of the biggest positive impacts that apprenticeships have on our economy is that many are considerably cheaper than university courses. Due to this, there will be more taxpayer money available to go towards other areas in the public sector. Furthermore, to enrol as an apprentice, you need to be employed in a full-time position; meaning more people will have money to spend, increasing the growth of our economy and helping to keep it stable.
For many reasons, apprentices add value to businesses, communities and the local economy. Furthermore, the commitment and willingness to learn that we have found in our apprentice has made Emily’s place in the business unquestionably valuable.
