Events Assistant Apprentice Harry took to twitter to answer your #AskTheApprentice questions live for Day 3 of #NAW2021
Date Created: 10th Mar 2021
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To celebrate #NationalApprenticeshipsWeek2021 our Level 3 Events Assistant Apprentice Harry, hosted a virtual #AskTheApprentice event, taking over the Artswork Twitter account to answer your questions about his apprenticeship experience so far as part of a national #AskTheApprentice online event. Read the transcript of his live Q&A tweet thread below.
Hello, I’m Harry, a creative apprentice at Artswork and I’m here for the next couple of hours to tell you about my journey and answer any apprenticeship related questions for #NAW2021 #AskAnApprentice.
I joined Artswork in October 2019, undertaking a Level 3 Events Assistant apprenticeship. I also work in the amazing communications team! There’s more about my journey in this piece I wrote a few months in. Now let’s get into the questions.
Why did you choose your apprenticeship?
I felt I had more to learn, basically! I’d just dropped out of uni so I was looking for work. I wanted to get a job that was going to fulfil me and help a future career, but at the same time I felt pretty inexperienced and underqualified, so an apprenticeship just felt like the natural choice. I’ve always wanted to go into the creative industry so when this opening popped up, it was perfect!
What’s been the biggest benefit of doing an apprenticeship?
It’s been the perfect bridge between education and employment. I’ve been able to experience a full time job in my chosen industry, whilst also learning about the sector. With the experience and training I now have, I feel much more prepared to launch my career than I would have had I stayed at uni.
To what extent have the challenges associated with lockdown impacted your apprenticeship, your learning and the delivery of your job?
Lockdown has had its ups and downs. We’ve been able to carry on training on Zoom but it’s definitely not the same as seeing everyone in person! A lot of events have been cancelled, which is no food if you’re an events assistant but we’ve found other opportunities to gain the skills and knowledge we would have got from live events, so it’s only the experience we’re missing out on. From a job point of view, working in communications means that most of our work is online anyway, so we were pretty well equipped for working from home.
What have you learnt most from working in lockdown?
That a good team of people really makes a difference! The apprenticeship staff and comms team have all be really supportive and we’re all able to be open with and help each other. I also feel really privileged to be in a position where I have the option and ability to work from home.
What’s the proudest moment of your apprenticeship so far?
There’s two moments – The first is being part of our Creative Christmas fundraiser and being able to see the impact it had on the young people in our area and how valuable it was.
The second is completing my off-job hours for my apprenticeship. 427 is a lot of hours so to get that over the line was a good moment!
How does an apprenticeship compare to university?
I’ve definitely enjoyed it a lot more! With an apprenticeship you get great industry experience, whereas university will be more study-focused so you get the knowledge before working, while an apprenticeship means you pick up that knowledge whilst getting experience at the same time. But overall, it’s important to choose what feels right for you!
How has your apprenticeship helped your future career?
It’s given me valuable industry experience and the skills and knowledge to be able to progress my career a lot quicker than I had imagined!
Any advice for choosing an apprenticeship?
Make sure you consider how both the education side and work side will benefit your future. An apprenticeship is about learning and growing, as well as working!
How did you prepare for your interview?
I made sure I was clued up about the organisation and had some answers ready and some questions to ask. Also make sure to tell them what you hope to get out of the apprenticeship too as this is equally important!
What advice would you give yourself if you were starting again?
Ask more questions! Not to say I didn’t ask lots, but I don’t think you can ever ask too many and there’s never a bad question. No one is expecting you to know everything, so the more you know, the better!
What’s the best thing you’ve got out of your apprenticeship?
Confidence (and a lot of experience). I believe in myself and my abilities and feel career-ready, taking everything I’ve learnt along the way with me!
To find out more about Artswork’s Creative Apprenticeship Programme click here. Looking for apprenticeship opportunities? Visit the Find An Apprenticeship website
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