Apprenticeships have something to offer for everyone, no matter their career background, educational background or age. They are often an incredible way for people to grow their skillsets whilst broadening their horizons.
Rebecca Coggins is a Programme Manager at City of Bristol College and is also completing a Level 5 skills and teaching apprenticeship alongside her full-time position.
Talking a little about her background, Rebecca said: “Previously I have completed a Beauty Therapy Level 2 and Level 3 qualification as an apprentice and this is how my apprenticeship journey started.
“This was the sector that I was interested in when I left school and after this apprenticeship, I went on to travel the world whilst I worked on a cruise ship as a Spa Therapist.”
It wasn’t long before Rebecca realised just how much she enjoyed sharing her knowledge and helping others to learn, she continued: “When coming home, I realised that I loved the coaching and teaching aspect and started to get into education. I started as an assessor and again completed qualifications whilst I learnt on the job.
“The Level 5 apprenticeship that I am currently completing is something I wanted to do to enable progress within the education sector and push myself with some new learning opportunities.”
When asked how she is finding her apprenticeship, she commented: “I am finding the apprenticeship challenging but enjoyable. I like to be organised, I diarise my study time for my apprenticeship, this enables me to take the time and complete the documents needed and get documents submitted timely for my assessor.”
Rebecca is a stellar example of an individual not needing to be entirely certain on an end goal or have a final future plan in place in order to undertake an apprenticeship, as it is often the apprenticeship journey itself that allows the room for growth and discovery.
Rebecca continued: “At the present moment I have no solid future plans, I am happy within my Programme Manager role and will continue to push myself within this sector when the time is right.”
She also spoke of the advice that she would give to a prospective apprentice who is considering their next steps. She added: “I would advise anybody to opt for an apprenticeship, why would you not want to earn whilst you learn? It is a great insight into a real working job which can open so many doors on all different paths depending on what you are wanting and looking for.
“As long as you are prepared to work hard, you will absolutely smash it!”
For a wealth of information regarding apprenticeships at City of Bristol College, simply click here.
