Aadil Panchbhaya
Digital and Technology Solutions Professional Degree Apprentice, Hitachi Rail GTS UK Ltd
Meet Aadil, a third-year Digital and Technology Solutions Professional apprentice at Hitachi Rail GTS UK Ltd. Aadil shares what it’s like to be the first in family to attend university, how he uses his ADHD to super-charge his career, and how he gives back through his work with the employee resource group, Neurosparks.
My journey to the degree apprenticeship
Being the child of a first-generation immigrant to this country, my whole life I have watched my parents work hard to provide for their family, and they’ve instilled that work ethic in me. In Year Nine, an employer came into my school and gave a presentation about degree apprenticeships, which I had never heard of before – I thought apprenticeships were for minimum wage, labouring jobs
When I found out that you could get a degree while also getting paid in a professional career, that was a big incentive because being able to contribute to the family finances while also being independent and attending university was very important to me.
From Year Nine on, I was really focused on securing a degree apprenticeship. When I was starting to think about applying to different employers, I was really interested in working for an organisation that contributed to public services, making a real difference in the lives of ordinary people. I applied to a few different apprenticeships and was offered more than one role, but it was the railway that really appealed to me – when I was in college, I regularly used public transport from Blackburn to Blackpool to work a part-time job at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, so it’s something that makes me proud, to work in a role that directly affects people’s lives, like it did mine.
I put as much effort as I could into my GCSE results and achieved high grades, but during college, two things negatively affected my grades – I was working part-time to help support my family, and I was diagnosed with ADHD. Despite securing an offer of a degree apprenticeship at Hitachi Rail GTS UK Ltd, I didn’t receive the grades I needed for direct entry onto the course. I thought that was it, my dream was over – but my employer was still keen to support my application, and I was able to complete a non-standard entry task and enrol on the Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship at Manchester Met.
Feeling like an impostor
Being from a low-socioeconomic background, I definitely felt a lot of pressure and impostor syndrome during my first few months of the apprenticeship. My whole life, it felt like I was being told that because my family was from a lower social class, I wasn’t going to have the same opportunities as other people. I was also sitting in class with other apprentices who were able to focus 100% on their studies and achieve A*s at A-level, and it was really quite disheartening at first. But one day, I decided it was time to change my attitude and stop feeling sorry for myself.
I may not have had equal opportunities to other apprentices growing up, I may not have the highest grades, but I could use that as motivation to get the most out of the opportunities presented to me by the degree apprenticeship.
I hadn’t had any support for my ADHD during college, and I grappled with a lot of stigma from teachers and my community, who still thought of ADHD as just something which makes you a troublemaker. But then the opportunity arose to join and lead a brand-new Employee Resource Group for Neurodiverse colleagues at my workplace, now called Neurosparks.
Being a part of Neurosparks has really helped me to understand how ADHD affects my brain. I’ve also benefited from being mentored by a colleague, who has taught me that ADHD is my superpower.
Whereas before, I’d only seen the downsides of ADHD, he helped me to focus on the many positives. For example, for every day that I find it hard to be motivated and focus on work, on the other side, I work quickly and productively when there’s a topic I’m passionate about. And yes, sometimes in school they called me a troublemaker because I would talk too much. But now that talking too much helps my colleagues and clients to understand complex issues. Once I accepted that about myself, that was when I made some big strides in terms of how I felt about myself, and how I presented myself to other people.
Taking control of my career
Once I’d found that confidence, it led to me using my loudness and my personality to my advantage in my career. I became the person always asking questions, always wanting to learn something new or be put onto a new project. And I used my apprenticeship to my advantage, because I needed that exposure to meet my Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours and to complete my Off-the-Job hours. That was probably the best thing that I did. It was the only way I was able to be in the position I am now - I’ve moved from development to a client-facing role, and I’ve been promoted from Software Engineering Apprentice, to Scrum Master, to Product Owner within two years.
I don’t feel that impostor syndrome anymore. I have the confidence to suggest improvements to ways of working, to take on new challenges, to work independently, and to mentor other people around me.
Advice to apprentices starting out
My main advice would just be to take advantage of every opportunity that you can during your apprenticeship. That’s how I’ve achieved what I have so far – by not saying no, by taking that opportunity for additional learning or certification, by putting myself out there in the workplace and by giving back through Neurosparks and educational outreach. You’re never going to get this time back – use it to build the career and the life that you want.