Why I chose an apprenticeship

Determining what you want to do for a “career” is arguably one of the most difficult decisions in life for someone to get right. My journey to get to this role is very much reflective of that. I left school to go to university and studied Mechanical Engineering, however due to various personal circumstances I ended up unable to finish the degree and left with nothing.

Since then, I had been working in customer service roles across various industries whilst trying to figure out what my “career” should be. In that time, I gained numerous qualifications (personal training, sports massage, and plastering, to name a few) but never managed to find a job in which I wanted to stay and make a “career”. (I should say, I use the term “career” because I was always told that a career was important when I was growing up. It was very much drilled in that you could not just work; you had to have a “career”.)

After trying so many different roles in so many industries, I decided that a change in perspective was needed. Rather than asking myself “What do I want to do for a job?” I asked “What do I want the job to give me? Does that role exist currently? And if so, does it exist in a field in which I have interest?” Answering those questions brought me to this apprenticeship, where I am now living a much healthier, practical lifestyle. I have the time, energy and money to pursue hobbies for the first time in many years, and I am in a role in which I am consistently challenged to solve problems. This is where I am the most engaged and stimulated, hence why I tried being a Mechanical Engineer when I left school. I’m not focussed on the idea of the “career” but rather am enjoying the job in which I work. If I would like to progress further, I can look at that, but that is not the goal. The goal is to enjoy a balanced life in and out of work.

How my apprenticeship is going

My apprenticeship is very interesting. The workshops are day long, or half-day long classes on various topics throughout the year, and they are good at getting me thinking. This is my first time in an environment where I’m working in the same field as the one, I am studying. It’s fun to sit in the workshops and think “I could apply this to my role in this way”, or “that could be useful when doing this part of my job”.

The assignments are reasonably straight forward, and the advisor to whom I’m assigned is a great boon if there are any difficulties in completing my work. I have also been given the opportunity to submit my work in Welsh, which for a first language Welsh speaker who historically did most of his learning in Welsh was a fantastic proposition.

All in all, the apprenticeship itself is a new way of learning which I am really enjoying and benefitting from greatly.

Being an apprentice

Being an apprentice is something new to me, and it’s like a superpower. I work in Welsh Government and they are very keen on learning and development. But most people have been there for years, which means they are very knowledgeable and talk at a speed using terms which I frankly cannot follow.

Being the apprentice is brilliant in these situations. Rather than just saying “I’m new”, being an apprentice immediately signals that you are learning. And so, rather than just explain something, I’ll be given context, explanations about how something affects wider teams, what policies are involved, and all sorts of extra, very helpful information.

The learning also goes both ways. As an apprentice, I’m learning concepts, skills and techniques which some more experienced staff may not be aware of or are not fully confident in using. In Welsh Government we are trying to move away from licenced software to open-source where possible. This means that people who are incredibly SAS (programming language) literate, are having to learn new languages such as Python and R from scratch. I then turn up, with recordings, notes, and demonstrations on how these languages can do various things and it really makes me feel like a valued member of the team – both in my immediate team and in the wider context.

In essence, being able to say “I’m an apprentice” is a superpower phrase to promote learning for yourself and others. It is something I will miss when it’s gone!

I would really recommend an apprenticeship like this. It gives you the opportunity to learn interesting material whilst working on multi-departmental projects and conducting analyses which directly influence the decisions which affect the nation as a whole. It provides a brilliant environment for anybody looking for interesting, stimulating and engaging work which also gives a routine to maintain a good, healthy lifestyle after logging off.

Pob lwc!