Kent Training and Apprenticeships: Meet the success stories

by My Kent Family reporter

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Apprenticeships are becoming increasingly popular as people look to enter the workplace without incurring large university debts.

Kent Training and Apprenticeships helps match people's skills with their most suitable career. Here we feature three of those who have found jobs they love - and have also been named apprentices of the month.

Kia Watson

Kia has had an unual path to her apprenticeship, having originally completed a beauty course at Canterbury College before working in a supermarket.

However, when she saw an apprenticeship vacancy with Kent County Council come up she thought the role sounded interesting and unique and applied.

She has now been undertaking an NVQ Level 3 qualification in business administration as an apprentice with Kent County Council’s South Kent Youth Offending Team in Folkestone since last October.

Kia Watson did not expect to undertake an apprenticeship
Kia Watson did not expect to undertake an apprenticeship

She admits that she didn’t know much at all about apprenticeships before she applied. "I knew a few people that had done them and knew of the benefits, but it wasn’t until I started that I really saw the benefits of earning whilst learning at the same time”.

When we asked Kia what her favourite part of her job is, she said generally working in the youth justice sector, learning different processes, especially dealing with the courts and legal side of operations.

When we asked Kia what she would say to other people thinking of taking on an apprenticeship, she said “definitely go for it, it’s a really good way of getting into your chosen career”.

Nat and his boss Steve
Nat and his boss Steve

Nat Annetts

Nat's path to an apprenticeship came when he was working at Sainsbury’s but was at a crossroads in his career and wasn’t sure what he wanted to do next. Fortunately, he heard about an opportunity at Canterbury-based web development agency Red Bullet through his brother who also works for the business.

Red Bullet were looking for an apprentice to come in and begin work on a specific website project, hitting the ground running and bringing in a lot of their own ideas and initiative to drive the project. Nat applied for the job and was successful in his interview over another candidate. He initially started at a Level 2, but within weeks was moved up to a Level 3 and has coped fantastically with the extra work.

When we asked Nat what interested him about the role, he said that he jumped at the chance to work in a fresh and exciting role for a digital agency where tasks change day-to-day. Compared to his previous job at Sainsbury’s, this job allowed him to be much more creative.

The things that Nat enjoys most about his job are working in a fast-paced industry that interests him like the digital marketing industry and the people he works with.

We asked Nat what his career plans are now, and were delighted to hear that he has been offered a full time job when his apprenticeship comes to an end in a month’s time.

Kimberley Smith and nursery manager Nicki Pittam
Kimberley Smith and nursery manager Nicki Pittam

Kimberly Smith

Kimberly has just finished her Level 2 in Childcare at Repton Manor Nursery in Ashford and is preparing to start her Level 3 qualification.

Kimberley’s route to her Level 3 apprenticeship involved a lot of hard work and progression that greatly impressed her manger Nicki. She initially started with a temp job which soon got extended. After this had finished, Nicki wanted to keep Kimberley on so decided that an apprenticeship was the best way to allow her to continue working with the nursery whilst gaining an early years qualification which she did not currently have.

Kimberley started at a Level 2 and was pleased with how easy she found it to apply the academic side of her study whilst combining it with the hands-on experience of working with children, and was surprised at how much she had learnt without going to college. She has now completed her Level 2 and will soon be starting her Level 3 so that she can continue to work at the nursery whilst gaining further qualifications.

Kimberley’s favourite parts of her job are group time, being creative with planning activities, and bonding and forming relationships with all of the children.

When asked what she would say to anyone of thinking of undertaking an apprenticeship, Kimberley said “do it! I think it’s the best way to learn and I found the coursework quite easy as it directly relates to my job”.

Kimberley’s answer when asked what her career plan is will definitely please her employers. “To stay here, I love my job”.

For more information about apprenticeships, visit the Kent Training and Apprenticeships website.

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