Why did you choose to start an apprenticeship?
I decided to start an apprenticeship because I felt as though it would be beneficial to complete a qualification alongside gaining work experience. Being in the workplace and at college means that I am always occupied with new skills to learn, whether that be new systems at work or tasks in the classroom – I always have something to work towards!
As I have never worked full time in an office-based environment before starting at Direct Air, I think an apprenticeship was the best route for me to be introduced to this lifestyle and I’m really happy with my choice so far.
What does your learning plan for college consist of?
The qualification I have started includes a range of different topics that will help me to build my knowledge for general skills in a business environment, as well as a specialised module to help develop my marketing progression. Some examples of key areas I will be enhancing are time management, leadership, effective teamwork, and many more.
During my course I also get the chance to pick one module out of a selection, of which, I’ve decided to do the social media module because this will provide me with specific marketing tools, and I am already starting to take on similar responsibilities so this ties in really well.
At college I will be completing workshops to test my knowledge on the topics learnt in the classroom, this helps to identify any potential gaps where I may need to recap. During the course I will be completing tasks to display the skills I’m learning and work towards my end point assessment.
What tasks are you taking on in the workplace?
At work I am managing the admin of Direct Air’s CRM system, Pipedrive, this consists of keeping all new and existing customer pages up to date with the correct information which is task I keep on top of daily.
More on the marketing side of the job, I have started creating evergreen posts and scheduling the social media posts for our 3 different platforms. I also pull together reports of Direct Air’s social media and website analytics to ensure the posts we’re putting out are successful with our target audience. Alongside this, I keep track of all incoming enquiries that we receive from different marketing activities.
How will attending the workplace and college combined provide you with skills for life?
Having the first-hand work experience by being at Direct Air for the majority of the week means that I’m able to learn things I wouldn’t have the opportunity to if I was in full time education. An example of this is the upcoming Foodex event we’re exhibiting at April this year, as I will be helping out with building the stand and welcoming prospects with Direct Air leaflets.
At the end of my apprenticeship, my college sessions will have taught me to confidently demonstrate leadership, communication skills and teamwork allowing me to effectively work with my colleagues at Direct Air.
All of these skills will be vital for my progression both short and long term, as many of the things I’m yet to learn will be used daily throughout my entire career, which I’m so excited to continue working towards.