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Inspiration Blog for Aspiring Apprentices

Breaking the Myth: University Isn’t the Only Path

Hello, I’m Chloe Smith, an Apprentice Project Manager working for Network Rail on the Transpennine Route Upgrade. I began my Project Management apprenticeship journey in September 2024, and I haven’t looked back since. Getting to this point, however, required resilience, determination, and the confidence to challenge the widely held belief that university is the only route to success. Here’s my jo

July 2 Read more

It only takes one “yes” to get your foot in the door

Hey, I’m Ayana, and I’m currently a data analyst apprentice working in regulation. Sometimes, I still can’t quite believe I’m saying that to this day. My journey has felt a bit chaotic but I hope that this gives you faith that everything will work out in the end, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. My background  I came from a STEM-based background, studying a deadly combination of Mat

June 29 Read more

The 6am Phone Call That Changed My Career

That photo was taken in Seattle on a work trip for Amazon. But this story starts somewhere very different. I was sixteen, it was a Saturday, and it was 6am. I’d asked a friend to help me get a summer job at his aunt's business: offloading deliveries, easy money, hundred quid a week. Instead, my phone rang. It was his uncle, interviewing me on the spot for the delivery role. Somewhere in the middle

June 25 Read more

A Quick Pain and Forever Pride

When I left school, I honestly had no clue where my life was going. I still remember the sleepless nights of overthinking everything and feeling completely uncertain about my future. At first, it felt hopeless. My parents were constantly asking whether I was applying for jobs or considering university, and although they meant well, they did not realise how much pressure I was already putting on my

June 22 Read more

From Feeling Unsure to Finding My Path: How resilience and an Apprenticeship Shaped My Career

For a long time, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my future. I knew I wanted to work hard and build a career I could be proud of, but I didn’t have a clear job title or plan in mind- and that used to worry me. Everyone around me seemed to know what they wanted to do or at least what industry they wanted to take on, while I was still figuring myself out. What I’ve learned since is that

June 19 Read more

From “No Chance” to the BBC: How I Finally Broke Into HR

Hi, I’m Jamie, a 25 year old from Birmingham, currently working as a HR Apprentice at the BBC in the Employee Relations team. If you had told me 5 years ago that I’d be working at the BBC in HR, I would have laughed. My journey has not been linear. It wasn’t straightforward and it certainly wasn’t perfect. For a long time, I doubted whether I would get to where I truly wanted to be, and that’s exa

June 17 Read more

Designing my own path: My journey as a Mechanical Design Engineering degree apprentice

My journey was never a straight line and extracurriculars never just sat on the sidelines in my life – they were the base to where I am now and who I have become as a person. Every ensemble, orchestra, and club I have joined, every “sure, why not?” opportunity I have committed myself to has really shaped my whole future more than I expected and hopefully others in the future. So, here is my journe

June 15 Read more

Apprenticeships Aren’t the Opposite of Academia: My Apprenticeship Journey

For the longest time I have always seen myself to be an aspiring academic and so that meant university. Something about the prestige admittedly held a lot of weight within me and so the idea of an apprenticeship always felt like a half-baked thought. It was something that seemed great but, in my perception, was lacking. In actuality, the problem was never the apprenticeship offering it was my pers

June 12 Read more

From Rejection to Rolls-Royce: My Degree Apprenticeship Journey

My name is Subhaan and I’m doing a Materials Engineering Degree Apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce. I’m writing this blog to share my story about getting into an apprenticeship and to help others also get an apprenticeship. I remember being introduced to apprenticeships in year 10 by a friend - getting a free degree and getting paid at the same time seemed like the greatest thing to me. Deep down it wa

June 10 Read more

It’s Everyone’s First Time Living: Why I Took a Risk on a Tech Apprenticeship

Walking through the doors of La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls' School in Year 7, I never could have predicted where my journey would lead. By the time Year 9 arrived, a spark caught my attention: technology. Choosing Computer Science for my GCSEs wasn't just about picking a subject; it was the moment I decided to claim my space in the tech world. I absolutely loved it, passed it, and knew I wanted

June 8 Read more

Ripping Up the Script

Growing up, going to university didn’t seem like just a choice. It was the route everyone spoke about, it was what all my teachers pushed and the one that came with a complete set of instructions. And for a while, I followed the script perfectly. Following a strong set of results in my GCSEs and A-levels, the University offers began rolling in from various top universities and my next three years

June 5 Read more

The Plan That Didn’t Stick – And Why I’m Glad

When the plan goes wrong… When I started sixth form, I already had a clear plan for my career – study A-Level German, PE and Geology (random I know!), take a gap year working to save up for uni, study German and Spanish at uni, become a translator. Sorted right? Wrong! Made it to university but only lasted 3 months – woops! Turns out, I enjoyed working at Pizza Hut more than I did doing my univers

June 3 Read more

From Lewisham to PwC: My Apprenticeship Journey

I grew up in Lewisham South East London attending Addey and Stanhope secondary and Prendergast. I have a twin sister and older brother, both of which have helped me throughout my journey. My only work experience was helping out at my local British Heart Foundation on weekends. Before starting my apprenticeship, I studied Sociology, Computer Science and Business. I enjoyed all three subjects and wo

June 1 Read more

From College Drop-out to Degree Apprentice

After finishing my GCSEs and achieving good grades, I was unsure of what I wanted to do next. I felt I had outgrown my current school and needed something new. Initially, I applied for a Level 3 Dental Nurse apprenticeship as the idea of an apprenticeship had always appealed to me. I got the job, but it required travelling for several hours twice a week as I would be based in two different areas,

May 29 Read more

Searching Beyond The Darkness: My Journey To Becoming A Finance Apprentice

Throughout my school life I had no clue what I wanted to do when I left. Of course, when people asked me I would tell them something like a vet or a psychologist because they were credible careers that I could think of on the top of my head however, realistically I had no idea. As a child I struggled to imagine my life post education because I did not necessarily have the ideal role models in life

May 26 Read more