National Apprenticeship Week

Having visited multiple universities while going through the UCAS process, I came across an advert for a degree apprenticeship with the Ellis Recruitment Group. Having never heard of the initiative before I researched further and found it highly beneficial, you come out with a BA Hons degree and gain valuable work experience and no debt upon completion. The opportunity presented was perfect. It was local, offered a career in a highly rewarding and growing industry and the course on offer was the same course I would have taken if I went to university full time.

There are lots of things:

• Learning and developing a new skill set that will set me up for life.
• Meeting new people and making good friends in the process.
• Working in a highly successful organisation which looks after and rewards its employees.
• Completing a degree that requires a wide range of understanding across multiple areas such as HR, accounting, and project management helps me identify my specialism and the direction I want to take my degree.

Work-life balance is essential, trying to manage university work, and a fast-paced day job is tricky.

The amount of time you have to devote to studying to help achieve the grade you want takes multiple hours per week outside of lecture time.

It’s essential that you also schedule time to do things you enjoy

Working my way through modules such as management accounting – Maths isn’t my strong point and required work to help pass the assignment.

Having to adapt to a changing team – Since I started at the Ellis Recruitment Group in Sep 2017, the whole team around me has grown. I have had to flex my style and learn how to work in different ways with individuals.

Covid-19 has had an impact. I returned back from furlough early and wanted to hit the ground running. The excellent “Recruitment Juice” training we received during furlough to upskill employees aided my return.

At university, I get good support from lecturers and support staff when needed; they are on hand to email or call whenever required. Covid-19 has created the challenge of completing my final year dissertation remotely. My project has had to be adapted.

Full BA Honours in Chartered Management. Plus the opportunity to become a member of the Chartered Management Association (CMA). The CMA is the highly recognised accreditation for management professionals, coupled with a management degree; it will stand me in good stead for future career progression. It will enable me to help manage teams in the future and give me the skills to use my whole working life.

Completing an Apprenticeship program offers you a competitive advantage as you have the same degree as others, yet you will also have years of valuable work experience under your belt. No debt either, which means no paying back university loans for the next 25 years.