Ramla Bihi talks about her apprenticeship journey.

Uncertain future

After finishing my A-levels, I was unsure of which career path to take. I was uncertain about what I wanted to do or study. I chose not to go to university, as I did not believe it would be beneficial for me to take a loan out to study something I was not interested in or passionate about. This left me at a standstill. I started to think that I did not have very many options.

I have an older sister who did an apprenticeship in IT, she found that it really helped her find something she enjoyed and went on to do a computing degree and now works as a software engineer. As I grew up and watched my sister find her path, I started to believe that an apprenticeship may also provide me with the opportunity I needed to kick-start my career!

Next steps

Although I did want to start working, I was not too sure which career path was best for me. I found that an apprenticeship is perfect for young people who are looking for alternative options to university and perhaps looking to start their career early.

Being an apprentice has not only provided me with the opportunity to start working within a sector I was interested in, but it has also helped me to build my knowledge whilst working full time. I worked towards a business qualification, which directly related to the work I was doing. I believe the apprenticeship really helped tie in what I was doing in work on a day-to-day basis as the units, which the course covered, were relative to the knowledge I was gaining on the job.

My apprenticeship was quite different, in that I was able to work with almost all the departments in Newable. This allowed me to develop my skill set, skills which are easily transferable into other positions. It also enabled me to gain insight into the different services that Newable provides as a business. This played an important role in my decision making process as it helped me find the career path I wanted to follow – Marketing!

Finding my role

For the first time, I found myself doing something I was passionate about, and seeing myself learn, grow and develop in such a short space of time, in turn, made me excited about my future. My future looked brighter and I began to dream big.

After successfully completing the 15-month apprenticeship, I was offered a full time position within the Newable central marketing team. I joined at a very busy period due to Newable undergoing a rebrand and I was able to be part of several projects, which provided me with the opportunity to delve right into the job and learn a lot as a result.

Looking into the future

I am currently 8 months into my communications role, and studying a Professional Marketing course outside of work, at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, for which Newable provided the funding. This opportunity has not only allowed me to fulfil my professional targets, it has given me an insight into the future of my career and how much further I can develop. As I continue to learn, I hope to grow in my role and achieve bigger and better things.