Darllenwch y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg

Planning my future looked as though it was going to be the biggest decision I would ever make in my life, so I tried avoiding it. Whilst coming to the end of my A-levels this year, not knowing what my favourite subject was, or whether I wanted to go to university, I was completely clueless. However, after speaking to those with experience it landed me in this amazing opportunity that provides so many choices.

For my A-levels I studied Media studies, Art and Textiles, all of which I enjoyed due to the creativity involved but I didn’t know what I wanted to do next.  I came across the advert for the Digital Data and Technology apprenticeship on social media. I had been researching possible digital jobs or apprenticeships, as I knew I wanted to work whilst learning. I thought this apprenticeship would be a great first step into the working world, opening up possible future opportunities for me.

The world of work

Not having had any previous work experience, I didn’t know what to expect in terms of environment, colleagues and what I was expected to do and know. I wasn’t very confident in dealing with data digitally; however, it was something I was interested in. During my first few months I’ve learnt so much and worked with lots of different people which has helped my confidence grow. I have been given many opportunities to experience different events and training courses, alongside the apprenticeship work, all of which have made me feel a lot more independent.

My first placement

I began my first placement on the ICT support team, where I experienced working with a very technical team; I got to see what happens ‘behind closed doors’ of how all the applications work. I met many lovely people working on the team, all of which were very supporting. I then moved to my current team ‘Digital Infrastructure’ where we are working on a project called ‘SuperFast Broadband’. I am thoroughly enjoying working in this placement, and I have managed to learn so many new techniques, including analysing data from both primary and secondary research.

I work in a large team, which I feel has helped me to gain new skills in co-operation and communication. As well as meeting people from these placements, we have become a close team of digital apprentices and all work together to help and support each other. We have also just begun a new project together and as we all came from different backgrounds with different skills we are all able to take on individual roles (meaning everyone in the team is important!).

I am extremely thankful for this opportunity I have been given and for all of the experiences I have had so far. I am excited to proceed through this apprenticeship, to keep developing new skills and meet new people.

Post by Tia Mais, Digital Data and Technology Apprentice