Project Management Apprentice
“I’d just come out of sixth form, where I’d studied History, Music and Chemistry. I’d been looking at university courses, but nothing interested me enough, so I started looking at apprenticeships. I was intrigued by life in the Civil Service, and from there, I found FCDO Services.
I think for me, a degree apprenticeship like this one, balancing degree-level studies and real experience, was always the best option. I’m getting all these qualifications, doing interesting work, and I'm getting paid for it, so it was definitely a win-win.
"I’m on placement, and the Customer Contact Centre are a lovely group of people. In fact, the whole organisation is lovely."
My programme is planned so that we move around the organisation before we really get stuck into projects, so that we know the background of the company and all the different teams we’ll be dealing with. That’s why at the moment I’m on a Corporate team placement with the Customer Contact Centre.
This particular placement has been so helpful, actually. The Customer Contact Centre are a lovely group of people – in fact, the whole organisation is lovely – but it also means I’ve been able to see some work that will be really relevant for me later. I’ve looked at purchase orders, for instance, and had the chance to understand small works projects, meeting day-to-day customer needs.
"I’m getting all these qualifications, doing interesting work, and I'm getting paid for it, so it was definitely a win-win."
Also, critically, I’m getting to see the documentation that’s used on these projects, and I’m doing it in a low-pressure environment where I can just shadow, take it all in, and understand. That way, later in my programme, I can be confident in using that same documentation and it’s not so daunting, because I’ve had that initial supportive experience."
