As its National Apprenticeship week, Christie Ross, shares her one month’s experience of being an apprentice here at the GLA...
I am loving being the Marketing External Affairs Apprentice for the GLA. To have this experience has made me realise all the opportunities that are now open to me for the future. The GLA are an amazing organisation to be an apprentice for; the staff, building and surroundings make it a more than enjoyable place to complete my qualification.
Before I was an apprentice at the GLA I worked full time at my local Waitrose after I decided that school was not the right path for me. I had heard about Apprenticeships before but I didn’t realise how beneficial they were and what future prospects they hold. When I found the GLA advertise their 15 positions for Business Administrator apprentices I thought it was too good to be true, an apprenticeship working for the Mayor of London and for Londoners! I applied, unexpectedly getting an invite to an assessment day and then a second interview. I’ve always had a passion for Marketing since a young age so I was over the moon when I received the news that I would become part of the GLA’s Marketing External Affairs team.
Being part of the Marketing team has already offered me lots of opportunities and responsibilities in my first month. I have daily and weekly tasks which I have settled into already, providing support to my team and contributing to projects. The training provided to the Apprentices to complete our qualification is extremely helpful. The trainers are approachable and knowledgeable and the training provided is not too much or too little to take in. The sessions are surprisingly fun, having the other apprentices in the training with you as well makes you feel supported and more comfortable.
Since getting this Apprenticeship I feel more independent, knowledgeable and confident within myself, as I know I can gain the experience I need for my future here at the GLA.
I have already made some great friendships (Apprentices and staff) since I started here in January and I look forward to completing my Apprenticeship. The skills I will learn from working here will provide me with a building block for the start of my future to come.
Find out more about Apprenticeships.