Over 40% of all school-leavers are interested in apprenticeships (UCAS) but 38% of all school leavers face a lack of apprenticeships opportunities in their local area (Co-op).

For me, this statistic was incredibly relevant because while many apprentices find roles that keep them close to home, my apprenticeship relocated me over 200 miles away to London where I became a Management Consulting Degree Apprentice.

As a quick introduction, my name is Martin Lin, an Award-Winning KPMG Apprentice, Public Speaker and Apprenticeships Advocate. Alongside my full-time role, I also hold roles in organisations such as BPP and OuterCircle – where I have helped over 5000+ students learn about apprenticeships and how to bridge the gap between education and employment.

So why take the time to read this article?

Well I will be deep diving into:

-         How I found my apprenticeship

-         What do I currently do as a consulting apprentice

-         The benefits and challenges of an apprenticeship

-         What are my TOP pieces of advice for aspiring apprentices

If that’s not your cup of tea, then scroll along :)

How I found my apprenticeship

I found out about apprenticeship by pure chance.

As a student from a northern state school and low socio-economic background, I did not find out about apprenticeships throughout my full-time education. Instead, I was always pushed towards university by my teachers, careers advisors and parents throughout school.

Then the turning point happened.

In January 2023, I was 17, in the final year of my A-levels and working a part-time retail job. At this stage, I was fully focused doing everything that I needed to get into Warwick – my dream university.

But then one day, whilst folding up clothes at the end of a shift, I had a conversation with a co-worker about a Big4 graduate scheme he was applying for. From this conversation, I learnt about the basics around being a management consultant and this interested me enough to research more into a consulting career – and this is where I found out about apprenticeships and how they can be a route into different industries.

After understanding apprenticeships, the thought of full-time university study wasn't as appealing to me. Throughout my life, I've always thrived with practical, hands-on learning and the idea of an apprenticeship, where I could learn on the job and apply knowledge immediately, soon became my driving force.

Prior to my A-Level exams, in total, I probably sent out around 15 applications over the next few months. From those, I secured three final interviews, which eventually led to two offers. From these 2 offers, I decided to choose KPMG, relocating to London for the apprenticeship.

What do I do as a KPMG Management Consulting Apprentice

Currently as a 2^nd year apprentice, I have had the privilege to work in a range of KPMG departments whilst I have been at the firm. In my first year, I worked within Public Sector Internal Audit, where I have been involved in conducting internal audit reviews, facilitating educational programmes and writing reports for KPMG’s Public Sector healthcare and education clients in order to help these organisations mitigate risks in critical function areas such as ‘Patient Management’, ‘Counter Fraud’ and ‘Cyber Security’. Now, currently within my second year, I’ve had the opportunity to rotate into the ‘Technology Risk’ and ‘Financial Transformation’ departments, where I work with banking and insurance clients on new system and process implementations.

In addition to this, at the firm, I am also a Back2School Champion, Innovation Champion and ECD Ambassador which allow me to connect and work with networks throughout the firm which allow me to tackle topics such as social mobility in the workplace and volunteer my time to help schools across London become more educated around apprenticeships.

Regarding qualifications, just recently, I achieved a distinction on my Level 4 JMC qualification and will be starting my Level 7 CIMA pathway with KPMG in October 2025.

Benefits and Challenges of an Apprenticeship

In my option, the benefits of a degree apprenticeship are endless. On a basic level, a degree apprenticeship is an opportunity to kickstart your career whilst having the luxury of both gaining experience and studying at the same time. Some standard Degree Apprenticeship benefits include:

•      Long Term work experience in a professional environment

•      Debt-free learning and qualifications

•      A competitive and growing salary

But as someone who has gone through the experience, there are also some additional unique benefits too. An apprenticeship has allowed me to:

•      Learn how to work in a mature and fast-paced workforce

•      Travel across the UK and Europe

•      Build and expand my network of industry professionals and thought leaders

•      Develop my client-facing soft skills and communication

•      Connect to and help build a community of likeminded apprentices and aspiring apprentices

Overall, as an apprenticeships advocate, it is clear to me that degree apprenticeships are the way forward for a growing number of students. But there are also challenges that I have personally faced whilst pursuing this route such as:

•      Balancing Work, Study and Social Life

•      Adapting to ‘Corporate Culture’

•      Imposter Syndrome

Although social media has brought a lot of positive attention to apprenticeships, there are also still challenges that can hinder apprentices as they go on the pathway.

My TOP pieces of advice for aspiring apprentices

As the 2025 winner of the BPP Suzanne Finch Award – centred around my apprenticeship advocacy work – I have helped over 5000+ students learn more about apprenticeships and excel in their applications. The advice below is broken down into ‘Searching for an Apprenticeship’ & ‘Applying for an Apprenticeship’.

Searching for an Apprenticeship:

In my personal experience, as an aspiring apprentice, I found the actual search for apprenticeships proved to be the hardest part. Whilst I didn’t know many resources when I was applying, here are a few that I have discovered since:

•      Government Apprenticeship Website

•      Trackr (formerly Bristol Tracker)

•      UCAS

•      Amazing Apprenticeships

•      Rate My Apprenticeship

In addition to the above, I would encourage all students to fully research and understand what specific industries they may wish to go into – e.g it shouldn’t just be something broad such as ‘finance’ since ‘finance’ could mean auditing, banking, actuarial sciences etc. Make sure you know what you want to work in specifically which will naturally give you a scope and steer when researching for these roles and networking with professionals in the industry.

Applying for an Apprenticeship

Once you know what sectors you want to target for apprenticeships, the application process is probably the most intense phase of securing an apprenticeship. It’s the main phase where you must stand out against 100s/1000s of other applicants for the same role.

Two great tips for apprenticeship applications:

Detail Your CV: As someone who has reviewed countless CVs and spoken to loads of early career recruiters, I just have one message: Generic AI-Generated CVs don’t impress anyone.

When it comes to writing a CV, it’s fine to use AI but don’t just leave it there! Recruiters are looking for you to quantify your achievements and be specific about your contributions, (even in non-work experiences like school projects or volunteering!)

Network Actively: Use platforms like LinkedIn to connect with people in roles or companies that interest you – even better if they are apprentices that have gone through the application process previously! Use this opportunity to ask for tailored insights into the company and the application process (okay, 9/10 professionals may not reply but a simple informational chat can give you insights that can make you stand out to a recruiter)

Find Your Unique Selling Point: Is there a skill, experience or attribute which makes you stand out. For me, this was working with people and clients since the age of 9 – starting from my family takeaway to Sunday league football and then my part-time Sales Associate role.

If you have a unique selling point, build on this throughout your application process – especially in your CV, Cover Letter and Interviews.

Conclusion

My journey from a college student with no corporate background to an award-winning apprentice has been a testament to perseverance and the power of embracing resilience and new opportunities. Most importantly, it has taught me that your background doesn't define your potential which is a message I echo to every student I talk to.

If you are a reader that is interested further in my journey, then really free to reach out to me on Linkedin!

Martin Lin

Award Winning KPMG Consulting Degree Apprentice | 2025 BPP Suzanne Finch Award Winner & Apprentice of the Year L4-5 Runner-up | Current OuterCircle Events Lead (& Former School Outreach Lead) | Apprenticeship Advocate