#NationalApprenticeshipWeek19

What made you decide to choose an apprenticeship?

Completing an apprenticeship was not something I had previously considered, but after University I knew that I wanted to get into the housing sector and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to. The apprenticeship appealed to me as you are not expected to start as an expert, you pick it up as you go.

I first noticed my interest in housing when I was in University, studying works on modernism. I came across a poem written by Robert Frost called ‘The Death of the Hired Man’. The lines that sparked my interest were Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.’  ‘I should have called it Something you somehow haven’t to deserve.’  and it made me really appreciate the importance of having a place where you can feel secure and emphasised my view of housing being a human right and not something which you have to earn the right to  Hearing that at least 320,000 people in the UK are homeless really hit a nerve with me and I wanted to be a part of something which could alleviate the housing crisis. MovingSoon is a platform which is designed to gather affordable housing onto one platform, making home searching much simpler and helping people to find a home.

Debunking the apprentice myths

Stereotypically, apprentices are thought of as being at the beck and call of other team members and being subservient. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth… we all take it in turns to put the kettle on ☕ . Starting this apprenticeship in 2018, I understood that I would be learning on the job and so probably would not have much independent input. However, this apprenticeship has given me a lot of independence as I am creating material which will be sent to over 20,000 people and although I can ask for help and support, I am trusted to do this independently. 

The benefits of an apprenticeship

I believe that my career will benefit from this apprenticeship as it has opened a lot of doors for me and put me into an industry which would have been hard to break into. This apprenticeship has given me skills which will be transferable in any sector. Apprenticeships give people of all ages the chance to learn new skills whilst working towards a qualification. Apprenticeships give you real life working experience, alongside studying and help you to be able to understand how your chosen industry works, rather than being thrown in at the deep end.

Although I still have 12 months left, so far I have found spreading my time between working and studying a manageable balance. This is because the processes and things I am learning through working are easily transferred into knowledge for my course. My apprenticeship  is being completed alongside my employment, so I spend one day a week at home studying and four days in the office working for MovingSoon.

The importance of apprenticeships

I believe that apprenticeships are a great way to get more people into employment. However, I believe more funding needs to be distributed into educating people on what they are and what they can provide. The Independent made reference to how the current government in 2015 made a manifesto pledge to have 3 million apprenticeships by 2020. However in 2017/2018, the number of people starting apprenticeships was down 24% than the previous year. This highlights that the current approach in recruiting people into apprenticeships is out of touch and needs improvement. When apprenticeships are utilised fully, it is not just the apprentice who benefits, but also the employer and wider society.

Working at MovingSoon whilst doing my apprenticeship has shown me the valuable contributions that apprentices make to businesses and the importance of a good team relationship.

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