A great opportunity

I came directly from A-levels into my degree apprenticeship. I knew straight away that a full time University course wasn’t for me. I wanted an opportunity to learn but not have to go too far from home, so that I could continue living with family for support and to contribute financially. When I discovered degree apprenticeships, they were a great opportunity for me to get exactly what I wanted out of my next stage of study. I found the Digital User Experience Degree Apprenticeship and applied to my current employer through the Government apprenticeships website.

Fully supported

Before I applied, I had no idea what a UX designer was, never mind what they did and I was really new into the sector. I hadn’t studied any technology-based subjects during my A-levels and I was really worried that I was going to be out of my depth with the degree apprenticeship. However, the amount of support that I’ve been provided from the university and from my employer, building my knowledge up from the foundations, means that I now feel extremely confident in my technical skills. I’d encourage anyone, no matter their academic background or experience level, to apply for the Digital User Experience Degree Apprenticeship, and not to let a lack of knowledge put you off, because the support and resources from the University are excellent.

The start of a career

My employer has a large number of digital apprentices, but I am the first Digital User Experience degree apprentice that they have recruited.  User Experience is a growing area within the business, and this has meant that straight away I was given my own responsibilities and my own role in developing the internal and UX side of the business. It’s something that the business has really championed for me, giving me that opportunity to work independently but also providing mentorship and support considering my lack of experience and junior position in the company. They’re very keen on not only building up the degree apprentices but keeping them on after their apprenticeship ends. They’ve been really supportive of my career aspirations and I am hoping that I can follow AJ Bell’s development path to a team leader position when I complete my degree apprenticeship.

Impacting the business

The skills coaches I’ve worked with from Manchester Met have been fantastic and have been a real asset in helping me to develop both my technical and my soft skills throughout the degree apprenticeship.

The assignments on the course have been developed to give apprentices the opportunity to research work-based solutions that are applicable to their employer contexts. This has meant that when I share my assignment work with my employer, often the recommendations I have made are picked up and taken forward by the business. For example, I was able to pitch changes to one of our largest internal databases and am now working on a total refresh and redesign of that system. This will mean cost savings, efficiencies, and improved user accessibility, all of which positively impacts company priorities.

Real-world experience

As well as the actual course content being directly applicable to the work that I do and the changes we’re making within the company, there’s also a huge range of experience across the apprentices in my cohort. Their real-world industry experience has been invaluable to me in understanding how to get people on board with changing working practices to ensure that developers understand the benefits of working alongside my team when developing new technology and solutions.

A sense of community

Alongside another degree apprentice, I’ve taken the lead on setting up a Degree Apprentice Society through the Manchester Met Union. I was really keen to be involved in this as one of the hardest things when it comes to a degree apprenticeship is the sense that you might miss out on the full university experience. Giving apprentices an opportunity to go out and socialize will improve our sense of community and strengthen links with the wider university. We’ve been working on this for a few months, with support from the Apprenticeship Unit at Manchester Met, and it should be up and running for the new academic year in September, with various activities and social events planned. I’m really excited about it, and I see it as a legacy I can leave my fellow apprentices in years to come.