After a drop in numbers due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the number of young people entering education is on the rise again. Figures for the academic year 2021/22 showed that nearly 35,000 people in the east of England have started an apprenticeship. They offer a different type of career path than those who go straight to university, with the chance to learn real-world skills from the start and the opportunity to earn a salary. What do some of the newest apprentices think?
Jainna Bhalla, 19, lives in London but commutes to Basildon in Essex for her training at aerospace security and defense company Leonardo.
With four A*s on her A-levels, her teachers wanted her to go to Cambridge or Oxford, but instead she opted for a level 6 project management education.
When she was offered the job, she got in the car with her parents and drove to their new office to find out about the route.
She recalls thinking, “This is the beginning of my new life, the beginning of my career, and this is the beginning of what I expected for myself.”
She says she sometimes struggles with impostor syndrome because she’s in such a male-dominated industry and getting into the job without studying STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) for her high school diploma.
However, she says she has settled in and learned many new skills.
Jainna also felt it was important to get back into schools and raise awareness of the opportunities out there for young people.
“I want these students to have the support that I didn’t have,” she says.
“There is a misconception there [around apprenticeships] that you don’t have a social life…but if you have a great community you can experience that social side, but we also have a fun social side of work events and going to career fairs.”
“It was kind of a last-minute decision, but looking back it was probably the best decision,” says 19-year-old Henry Stothard, who works at Suffolk County Council.
In high school, Henry was one of the few to pursue an education outside of the trades.
“I looked into geography because I was interested in it and wanted to get my degree in it. I found this one and it ticked all the boxes,” he says.
During his training as a project manager he has researched how Suffolk can become more sustainable and has gone into the community with thermal imaging cameras to assess building insulation.
He has also helped residents on how to help themselves during the livelihood crisis.
Henry, from Colchester, says some of his friends went to university and while he may have enjoyed it, says he definitely thinks an education is right for him.
Seeing the impact of his projects is enriching for him and the training has also opened up other possible career paths for him.
“I can really get started and expand beyond my professional role,” he says.
“I’ve had the opportunity to go to different departments, talk to different people, travel all over Suffolk and meet loads of people, even if it’s out of my reach.
“I thought I’d be treated like the coffee maker, but no, you’re treated exactly like an equal.”
- A type of job that you can start as young as 16, where you can work full-time while pursuing an education at a college or university.
- Depending on the level of qualification, training can last from one to five years. Some people can take Level 2 education, which is equivalent to GCSE level, while Level 6 or 7 education is equivalent to a degree.
- Programs like this can be done in a variety of industries, from engineering to agriculture to mechanics and more.
Source: BBC Bitesize
Raeece Sarwar, 21, who has been in his haulage training for more than a year, is as passionate as when he first walked through the door.
He originally came to the firm through an internship and said his transition from to an apprenticeship was made easier after being thrown in at the deep end for the first week.
“After two weeks we were told, please stay a few more weeks, then we can definitely offer you an apprenticeship position,” he says.
Raeece, from Bedford, was the first apprentice hired by Hannah’s Solicitors in Rushden, Northamptonshire and he stands by his decision that this was the right path for him to take.
“I’m really sociable and bubbly, and the way I learn is from other people and the way they do it and visually from someone teaching me face-to-face.
“I knew that my heart was beating.”
Before joining the company, he studied computer science in college and had no legal background, but eventually applied for his teaching position during the coronavirus outbreak.
He says: “It was definitely harder in the days of Covid, but you just have to keep applying and never let yourself be brought down by a rejection again because you only learn from it.”
Although he doesn’t have a legal background, he says there were plenty of opportunities and people around him to learn from and be mentored by, allowing him to “soak up” information like a sponge.
“I went into law because I felt it allowed me to use my communication skills on a daily basis, particularly in the area of law I am venturing into. Also, it’s customer-centric work and I think I’m passionate about it and good at it too.
“You have the wrong notion that with an education you will become everyone’s person, printing stuff and making everyone’s tea… but I was dead wrong.”
Find BBC News: East of England Facebook, Instagram And Twitter. If you have an email with a story suggestion eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk
Add Comment