Last week we celebrated National Apprenticeship Week 2023, a time to recognise and celebrate our apprenticeship options and many success stories.
Continuing the celebratory atmosphere of the week, it provides us with the perfect opportunity to share the stories of two of our apprentices that are currently taking the college by storm.
Kobe Hunt and Lily Marsh are both part of the apprenticeship team at City of Bristol College. We caught up with them to hear how they’re getting on with their roles and what their apprenticeships mean to them on their pathway to success.
Kobe Hunt – Business Administrator Apprentice with City of Bristol College
Kobe said: “I am the Business Administrator for the business development team. My job is as a Skills Advisor, so I speak to employers, advertise their vacancies and recruit for them. I also do a lot of liaising with employers and applicants.
“In my foundation year at university, I did business development as part of the course I studied and I wanted to build on that and gain a certificate. I saw that this opportunity was here as a Level 3 certificate in Business Admin and I applied. I wanted to build on the skills that I already had.
“The recruitment side of my role is great because I was looking at recruitment jobs prior to this and it seems like a good taster of what working in recruitment is really like. I’ve learnt a lot about that area of work, so that is a nice little bonus to this role.”
Talking about why he opted to follow the route of an apprenticeship, Kobe commented: “It’s different to being in class, you’re working and you’re learning while you work. You can use every opportunity that you have to learn about anything that you can. At the end of the day, you’re there to work and to do a job and you want to continuously improve.”
When asked what he’d say to others considering an apprenticeship, Kobe said: “I’d say for sure, 100 per cent do an apprenticeship. I definitely think apprenticeships are the way forward because people often think you have to decide between an apprenticeship and university but it’s not the case, you can do both and in any order. That’s how I got to university, via an apprenticeship.
“I would definitely recommend those thinking about it to do an apprenticeship because you can build on it and it doesn’t just end at Level 2, you know you can take them up to Level 6 or Level 7.”
Lily Marsh – Apprentice with City of Bristol College
Lily said: “I advertise apprenticeship vacancies on the Digital Apprenticeship Service website, liaise with employers and learners and complete their apprenticeship paperwork to get them through enrolment. I liked the idea of getting experience within a workplace, getting paid and getting a qualification at the same time.
“The environment at the college is really friendly and colleagues are always wanting to succeed and do better for not only themselves but students and others around them. Everyone is always willing to help.”
When asked what she would say to someone who is considering an apprenticeship, Lily commented: “I would definitely recommend it. You get paid whilst getting a qualification. You also get a great routine of work and learn lots of new systems beneficial for your CV.”
To discover the apprenticeships supported by City of Bristol College, click here. You can also email the apprenticeships team directly at apprentice@cityofbristol.ac.uk.
