Being An Apprentice.

Happy Saturday lovelies! How’s your week been? Mine has been pretty busy but great, because I finally received my certificates for my apprenticeship! Which led to the post I’ve decided to write today!

Here’s a little about me that you might not know; I’m 23, and I’ve been working as an apprentice for the last year and a half. And this week I got my certificate for finishing another qualification level in social media and marketing and I’ve just enrolled to do the next level up for the next 2 years!

Here I am with my college assessor getting my certificates!

Part of why I decided to write this post is because I was reminded this past week that we rarely celebrate our achievements and successes, and it’s important that we do, because even the smallest successes are just that, successes.

Celebrating the little things are important because it increases your self-confidence, self-esteem, it creates a positive mood and you can learn what helped you and why you succeeded so you can do it again!

So, why did I become an apprentice?

I decided to become an apprentice after being unhappy working in a supermarket for a little over a year doing shift work with little sleep. I am however, still grateful for that experience as it helped me develop my people skills!

I never really knew what I wanted to do as a career, other than that I wanted to do something creative. And when I decided I wanted to change jobs, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, and it was then that I started thinking about uni and why I didn’t go to university.

There’s several reasons why uni just wasn’t/isn’t for me right now. One being that I couldn’t pick what I wanted to study, there’s too many options and I’m very indecisive. And secondly, because of that, I don’t want to start a degree and then realise it isn’t for me and have student debt at the back of my mind.

So, it was then that I figured an apprenticeship or traineeship was the right thing for me to do. And here’s why: I get to earn money whilst I learn and gain a new qualification and skill, I don’t have to pay for my training, I get experience in a field I’m interested in, get trained in something completely new and I get to join a team of great people.

So where do I work?

For the past year and a half I have been working for a great non-profit organisation called The SUN Network as a social media and marketing manager apprentice. The SUN Network is a small organisation and we gather feedback from people who have accessed/tried to access/are accessing mental health or drug and alcohol services within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, as we believe the people who have accessed the services are the best to influence and shape how those services work in the future.

At The SUN Network we amplify people’s voices and help create opportunities for them to be involved by attending workshops, meetings and by anonymously and confidentially sharing their experiences with services. Working at The SUN Network is great because there’s only 5 of us in the entire team, and we all have lived experiences with mental health and/or drug and alcohol challenges, so we are all very passionate about being able to help other people.

Being 23 and an apprentice does feel a little weird sometimes, partly because apprenticeships are usually associated with people just coming out of school who haven’t worked before. But, I then just remind myself that everyone does things at their own pace, and I love my apprenticeship, job and team. And I love that I am learning new skills whilst getting paid!

If you’re wondering whether or not you want to go to uni or an apprenticeship, I suggest having a look around the different universities and looking online for apprenticeship opportunities, and then you can decide what is best for you. Moral of the story is that you’re never too late to try something new, who knows, you might find your calling!

And that’s it from me for today, it’s a short and sweet post this week because I’ve been super busy! But I always love making some time to write/chat with you. Maybe in a few weeks I’ll let you know what a day in my life and job is like. Have a great week everyone!!

Love,