I’m Evie and I work as an Apprentice Business Administrator at Extension Recruitment. For national apprenticeship week I have written a small blog on my experiences as an apprentice here at Extension Recruitment and what I have learnt over the past 12 months.

I started my apprenticeship in January 2022 after going through an interviewing and testing process. I got the call in December to congratulate me that Extension Recruitment wanted to hire me. I was incredibly excited to be able to start a new experience (but of course, I was also extremely nervous!)

Previously to working at Extension Recruitment, I had worked in two part time roles whilst completing my GCSE’s and A-Levels. Unfortunately, COVID hit when I was in my last year of A-levels so I was quite lost for a year. I am now 20 years old and finding an apprenticeship gave me some purpose and the drive to want to do well in my career. A 9-5 job was very daunting and something that I didn’t think I would be able to do, however, sticking at it and persevering, this was the norm for me in no time. (Of course, working in a company that is full of lovely colleagues helps too!)

I chose to do an apprenticeship as University never really appealed to me and I wanted to jump straight onto the career ladder - I am so glad I did! Not only do I have an amazing job, I also get one day a week to go to college and learn all things Business Administration. I am continuously learning when in the office and in college, acting like a sponge as I absorb all the knowledge of my colleagues around me. Doing an apprenticeship was the best decision I could have made. I now have experience that I can take with me on my career journey that I would not have gained if I had gone to university.

Some of the highlights of my apprenticeship is recruiting for a client, following candidates through the process and eventually placing them in a role. You get a thrill once you have been able to secure a candidate a role and be able to call them up to let them know that they have got the job. This process has helped to develop my communication skills, confidence and my written English skills.

I would highly recommend an apprenticeship to anyone!