Why apply for this Apprenticeship

Colleagues have shared their insights and experiences based on their Apprentice journey.

“Deciding to go down the route of an apprenticeship rather than university was the best choice I have ever made. I have learned so much from my colleagues and having had the chance to work in this environment straight out of school, has helped me mature and develop my professional skills. I had so many exciting opportunities along the way to mix things up. The network of apprentices was such a great group to be a part of, we all supported each other massively. I have now made friends for life through this process and we have all helped each other develop to reach our potential.”

“Working as an Apprentice has proven to be a great experience for me. The program has taught me how to learn and improve at my own pace whilst undertaking meaningful and important work. I feel very supported in my learning by my manager and colleagues and I strongly believe that becoming an apprentice is a good development opportunity whether you are new or experienced in the Civil Service. Having a team of experienced professionals around me has helped me to learn key professional values and to also maintain a healthy and stable work-life balance”.

“I felt that the apprenticeship programme was a fantastic opportunity to help develop and enhance my understanding of how the government works and delivers its own operations. I have always been passionate about helping people and saw the Home Office as a perfect opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives”.

“I started my apprenticeship at the Home Office at 28 years old! I had worked in luxury retail since I left school and was longing to become a Personal / Executive Assistant in a corporate company. However, with 8 years (and all of my career) spent in retail shop floor sales I was finding it difficult to break in to the Admin / Personal Assistant (PA) world. After many failed applications for PA roles, I applied for an apprenticeship at the Home office. Here, I would study a national diploma in Business Administration whilst working as a Diary Manager to one of the Senior Directors. I remember at the time feeling so proud that I had been invited to interview at the Home Office and then being successful! The apprenticeship scheme allowed me to gain the experience that I needed whilst having exposure by working alongside Senior stakeholders within the business. I was given time in work to complete my diploma which, related completely to the job that I was doing so although it was a lot of work, I never felt stressed to complete it. I would encourage anyone who might be thinking to enrol on to an apprenticeship. I always thought I was too old and it was for people who were of school leaving age, but it has changed my career for the better. I will be forever grateful of the experience.”

“I started as an apprentice in February 2017 as a Diary Manager straight out of sixth form. My apprenticeship was Business Admin and being completely new to the department (as well as to the civil service) and in quite a high-pressure environment, a lot of my apprenticeship was completed in my own time. I found the easiest way for me to complete my assignments was to constantly think of the end goal and plan ahead to ensure I was prepped each time I came to write one of my essays. I think an apprenticeship is genuinely a brilliant form of learning and for myself was 100% the right choice over going to university. I think it’s really great to see managers championing apprenticeships and allowing staff the flexibility to achieve 20% off the job learning in order to complete a valued qualification. The qualifications you receive are transferrable to other roles not just within the civil service and the experience you gain and the people you meet whilst completing the qualification is invaluable.”