Talking about my apprenticeship journey in digital marketing
Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership, Jack Sargeant, talks to apprentices Elinor Jones, Luke Jones, Sara Williams and Rhiannon Young at the conference.
After starting a small-scale podcast with a friend during lockdown called ‘Am I Adulting yet?’ and spending my days marketing and promoting this using social media, I began to gain a keen interest in marketing and enjoyed the creative element of what I was doing. I wondered if a career in marketing would be the ideal pathway to finding a job that was suited to me.
However, after days of looking for marketing roles and all the entry level roles looking for two years’ experience, I found it difficult to find a job that was right for me.
Finally, amongst the jobs, I found the role with Cardiff Council which gave me the chance to work as a marketing assistant but also complete a digital marketing apprenticeship alongside it. I thought this sounded perfect!
I am currently a year into my apprenticeship and have had a great time over the last year learning, developing and gaining a diverse set of skills. I have worked across three different departments in the Council which include Cardiff Harbour Authority, Visit Cardiff and Bute Park.
I have also had the chance to promote a variety of attractions and events happening in Cardiff; helping to bring people to the city. The apprenticeship has complemented my role, as I am continuously learning new marketing information which I can transfer into my day-to-day role.
After my apprenticeship finishes in November, I would love to continue my career in marketing and working in the travel and tourism sector. After spending parts of my 20s travelling, it is another core passion of mine so I would love to be able to continue in this sector.
Although having completed a degree and now working towards an apprenticeship, I can see the benefits of both pathways. I had a brilliant experience with my degree and learnt so much and developed many skills, however sometimes this doesn’t guarantee a job role at the end. While completing an apprenticeship may be seen as alternative option, it is such a great opportunity to gain work experience, a qualification and earn all at the same time and, I believe, should be championed more in the education sector.
To summarise, I would highly recommend an apprenticeship to anyone that is thinking of taking this path. It is a great opportunity to learn and earn at the same time with many opportunities available to you throughout the apprenticeship. I think it’s important to always be learning and developing in your role, whether this is when you are starting out or later in your career.
As part of my apprenticeship journey, I was extremely lucky to be part of the National Training Federation for Wales (NTFW) Annual Conference which took place at Cardiff City Stadium, last week.
The event was a great chance for me to learn about the future of apprenticeships and how leading operators are working extremely hard to bring more apprenticeships into workplaces. Anyone can do an apprenticeship and efforts are being made to promote apprenticeships in schools.
I was pleased to be given the opportunity throughout the day to support NTFW with their social media channels. This was such a great chance for me to learn new ways to use social channels and to acquire skills from working on different marketing tools which I can take into my everyday role and will help to support with my apprenticeship. For example, I can now create content and share it via LinkedIn, which is new learning for me.
I also had the chance to attend two workshops which looked at the future of AI and how this will impact key areas such as education, photography and film, also affecting the way workplaces will be operating. This was very interesting and provided more knowledge and information that I can apply in my own workplace and develop through my apprenticeship. For example, I can now create images and music using AI which will add more creativity to my work.
To end the day, I took part in the apprentice panel where I was able to share my experiences and explain why I chose to do an apprenticeship. Through questioning, I outlined the support I receive from my employer and the assistance from my training provider and why I would encourage other people to complete an apprenticeship.
Although nerve wracking speaking in front of over 100 people, it helped to develop my communication skills and self-confidence, giving me a real sense of achievement.
By Elinor Jones, Corporate Apprentice (Level 3) and Digital Marketing Assistant for Cardiff Council.
