Digital and Technology Solutions degree apprentices Lilly-Ann Hulse and Rosie Dandy became friends while on Manchester Met’s Aspire, Apply, Achieve (AAA) programme. They went on to secure apprenticeships with Bentley and AstraZeneca respectively, and have just graduated with First Class Honours degrees. We caught up with them to look back over their experiences. 

I think doing the AAA programme made us more likely to be successful at interview, and more likely to be offered apprenticeships compared those without that foundation. I’m the only one that I know from my company that got offered more than one apprenticeship.

- Lilly

What elements of the Aspire, Apply, Achieve (AAA) programme were particularly valuable for you? 

Lilly: It was a really good programme. They did different sessions each month, culminating in a mock assessment centre. The people that went all the way through the programme probably were the most successful because they were the ones that pushed themselves out of their comfort zone and got the most out of it. 

Rosie: It was great that it was in-person. It forces people to get involved and engaged, and to meet other people. I met Lilly and we could support each other through AAA and through our applications – and eventually through the programme.

Lilly: Rosie and I knew we both wanted to apply for the same programme so we were looking at similar jobs. Chatting to each other about them was really useful, particularly as there wasn’t anyone else in my year at school I could talk to about it.  

Rosie: Not everyone has someone at home to check cover letters and give advice on applications. AAA was great for supporting us with things like that.

Why should people sign up for AAA? 

Lilly: It’s something you can do off your own back and it looks good on your application. It shows that you want to do a degree apprenticeship, that you know what you’re signing yourself up for, and you’ve done your research.  

Rosie: You get a huge amount of support from school around applying for university, you don’t get taught how to apply for apprenticeships. AAA is free! Why would you not go? Not many things in life are free and there’s people out there wanting to help you.

How else did you research apprenticeships and prepare for your applications? 

Lilly: My mum was set on convincing me about apprenticeships so I went to a careers fair during my GCSEs. I was probably the youngest person there. I then spoke to other apprentices and that swung it for me. 

I also did work experience at Barclays and spoke to some apprentices while I was there, and then I applied. I was offered a job but decided Bentley was a better fit for me. 

Rosie: I actually wanted to be a lawyer originally. I researched law, spoke to people at careers fairs, and then I did six weeks’ work experience and hated it. That left me a bit stuck. I was quite academic and wanted to go to university. I was doing A-level Business so started looking at Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeships.

Then someone told me to consider IT and I learned about the rotations you get to do at some companies where you can try different jobs in different departments. When I saw that I could specialise in IT consultancy, I decided to apply for both business and IT apprenticeships.

It turned out AstraZeneca was the best company for me – they had great rotation options and it sounds cringy, but their values aligned with mine. I knew it was somewhere I wanted to work.

Did you have a choice of apprenticeships in the end – did you receive more than one job offer? 

Rosie: I applied for over 30 apprenticeships – I was really determined to get one – and I was offered about five. AstraZeneca was the best fit for me. 

Lilly: I applied for three and got all three. I think that genuinely is because I was so confident going in, and so well prepared. 

I chose A-level Computing almost defiantly because I was the only girl and I knew the pay would be good, but I actually ended up enjoying it. When I did work experience at Barclays I got to know all the different types of computing and IT departments I could work in, and I spoke to other apprentices to get their views. 

At Bentley, I was interviewed by the Head of Corporate Innovation and the Head of IT, so it made me feel like they really cared about the apprenticeships. That was one of the main reasons I chose them. 

I think doing the AAA programme made us more likely to be successful at interview, and more likely to be offered apprenticeships compared to those without that foundation. I’m the only one that I know from my company that got offered more than one apprenticeship. 

What impact has your degree apprenticeship had on you and your career? 

Rosie: I feel like my confidence has come on leaps and bounds. My team have seen the difference in me from start to finish. I’m always encouraged to speak up and I feel valued. You won’t be doing all the rubbish jobs. In my experience, very senior people come to me and know they can rely on me.

Recently, one of the Directors asked me to run a Cyber Security campaign which involved sending emails to the whole of AstraZeneca, in different languages and different templates, in order to understand where we’re not completely cyber secure, and where people need additional training, etc.

For someone that senior to say they want me on that project just shows how much you do come on as an apprentice, and it’s giving me confidence in myself as well. It’s given me real aspirations of where I’d like to go next.

Lilly: I agree. I used to see myself as ‘just an apprentice’ and I used it as a comfort blanket, but in the last year or so I’ve gained more confidence in myself and I can see that nothing is out of reach. You learn that if you just say yes to things that may be out of your comfort zone, it takes you to the next level. If you keep doing that there’s no limit to where you could end up.  

I started to present university assignments to my team, and then last year I presented in America at one of the biggest tech conferences in the world. 

Rosie: If you don’t ask, you don’t get. When I had a university assignment on strategy, I went to the person creating the IT strategy at AstraZeneca and asked her to mentor me. She was more than happy to help me.

You just have to jump at every opportunity and trust the safety net will be there. The safety net is what you build up through your network, so I can do the things that scare me.

What are your experiences of the gender stereotypes associated with the IT industry?

Rosie: Whether I’m a woman or a man, I don’t think there is any difference at all. There was an occasion where someone said to me that I was getting all these extra opportunities because I was a woman and I had to correct them – it’s not because I’m a girl, it’s because I’m seeking them out.

At AstraZeneca, there’s no difference to how we’re treated. I don’t feel I’m doing anything radical by saying I want a career in tech because we’ve got a lot of women leaders to act as role models, to look up to or reach out to, and to get support from.

Lilly: Bentley is an automotive company, and the production line isn’t something that attracts a lot of women. However, apprentices make up the majority of my team, and it’s more females than males so I don’t feel that divide. I’ve actually had more difficulties based on my age, but I like to prove people wrong about that. I’ve built good relationships and proved myself and it’s just taken a bit of time to overcome that. 

I’m part of the Women’s Group at Bentley which is aimed at trying to get more women into the company generally. I also work with a company called Mulesoft and they have a high proportion of male developers. I’m part of a group called Women Who Mule and it’s about trying to get more women trained up in it. It’s more about showing that there are women who do it, rather than telling. 

What impact have your work-based projects had on your organisations? 

Lilly: I can’t say much due to confidentiality, but Bentley have an aim to build five all-electric vehicles, one each year from 2025. To do that we need to make some changes to our IT systems. That’s the project I’m involved in at the moment.

Throughout my apprenticeship I’ve always run real projects in the workplace – even when I first started. When it became time to choose my final year project, this was the one I was most interested in and passionate about. All the extra research I had to do as part of the apprenticeship set me up to then take it on full-time once I’d completed my programme. 

Rosie: There have been so many different projects I have been involved in over the years that have added value in various ways. I started off by identifying and creating the necessary training for the global deployment of MS Teams, enabling all employees to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, I delivered several automation solutions in the supply chain, freeing up employees’ time from manual tasks so they could focus on more value-added activities.

I deployed a smart metering solution for the Macclesfield Manufacturing site. This move towards sustainability was especially significant given the ever-increasing energy costs. Not only did this help us achieve our ambitious sustainability goals, but it also provided crucial figures for making data-driven decisions. This involved prioritising budgets to enhance energy-intensive processes, identifying energy leaks, and taking action promptly. The outcome was a remarkable 10% reduction in energy consumption at the Macclesfield campus, resulting in savings of £3.5 million.

And that’s just scratching the surface. I’ve impacted the business in numerous positive ways through the various roles I’ve held across different departments, both within and outside of IT.

Looking back over your apprenticeship, has it been a good decision for you? 

Rosie: I think in a few years’ time, companies are going to be asking people, ‘why did you go to university over doing a degree apprenticeship?’.

It’s been so good and set me up for life - I could be at AstraZeneca my whole career.

When you go to university you learn it all theoretically but sometimes the books say one thing, but the reality is different. With an apprenticeship we learned lots of different methods and knew when to apply them. Generally working in an office, working with professionals has given me so much ambition. I know where I want to go and what I want to do.

Lilly: I don’t think I would have got a first if I’d done a full-time university course. I’ve got better time management, I’ve got the motivation to show Bentley that they chose the right person when they chose me, and I wanted to make the most of the opportunity I’d been given. I’ve earned a debt-free degree and I wanted to get the most out of it that I could.  

I think some people are put off doing a degree apprenticeship because they feel they’re not ready to choose a career. But just because you choose an apprenticeship in a certain area doesn’t mean you have to do that for the rest of your life, and you’re so employable afterwards. I bet in five years, Rosie and I will be doing jobs that don’t even exist yet. 

Find out more about our Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship.