My Apprenticeship with National Careers Service London

Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week

“I chose to do an Apprenticeship because I wanted to change my career. I had my daughter at a very young age, which meant my options were limited to fulfil my own career as the dynamics had changed. I had to do what was necessary to feed my family, which meant my career had to pause for a while. She is now 7, so I felt like it was the right time to choose my career path and an apprenticeship seemed like the perfect route to take. I didn’t want to go back to being stuck in a classroom and I knew working on the job would give me the on the work experience I needed.

As hard as it was to find a career, I knew that I would refuse to be in a job with robotic managers that don’t accept that family comes first. I had researched the National Careers Service a little bit before I applied for my role, and I liked the concept of their work. I was claiming out-of-work benefits before starting my Apprenticeship and from my understanding, it was people like me that the National Careers Service helped. I knew there wasn’t enough help for people who need it, so I was really keen to get involved.

When I had my interview with the National Careers Service, the team were great. They were so understanding of my circumstances and completely accepted that, since I’m a single mum, my child would come first.

"I’m really lucky that I’m on this journey"

Since starting my Apprenticeship, I have integrated quickly and easily within the team. Everyone is so lovely, and they always offer to help me whenever they can. They made me feel welcome from the first day I started, and I have had the opportunity to work with the various teams within the office, learn about what everyone does and support them in a variety of different projects.

The best thing about my Apprenticeship is the flexibility within my role. I’m able to do something different every day, work with different teams and demonstrate my capabilities. I can confidently work on my own and take on more responsibilities as time goes on.

I would 100% recommend Apprenticeships to anyone! I’m able to complete my assignments in my own time and I don’t have to sit in a classroom every day – Apprenticeships are an amazing alternative to standard learning. Learning and being able to work at the same time is perfect for me and I’m really lucky that I’m on this journey with such a supportive team.”