‘Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover’ – Publishing Professional Embarks on Apprenticeship

Apprenticeships are often misunderstood as something that’s only for young people who are entering the workforce for the first time, but that’s just one aspect of their potential. The reality is that apprenticeships can be an incredible tool for people at any stage of their career.

Darryl Murdoch is Commercial Manager for eMap Publishing and is currently on the Level 3 Team Leading apprenticeship course with Itec. Below, he shares his journey and experience navigating the stages of structured learning as a professional in his field.

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Initial reservations

A key benefit of apprenticeships is the "earn while you learn" model. For adults with financial responsibilities or families to support, this is especially valuable. You can gain hands-on experience without the need for full-time schooling or taking on student debt. Instead of just sitting in a classroom, you're working in a real-world setting, earning a wage, and developing practical skills. This was Darryl’s thought process:

At 41, I thought my days of structured learning were a long way behind me. I've got a young family so initially I thought ‘How much is this going to impact on my day to day work?’, ‘Am I going to have time for this?’ ?And then I spoke to some other people who had done the apprenticeship and their feedback was really, really good.

I'm really glad that I asked them because everything they said and more has come true. I couldn't have been more wrong. I think that's the overriding messages. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm really grateful for the opportunity. Don't judge a book by its cover.

My initial reluctance was just around not wanting to do structured learning because I thought I was too old for that. Now, I've done it I realise actually it can play a really important role in your career development, because it enables you to take a longer term view of the training. It's not something where you have to go to a different office for two hours, sit and listen to someone talk about strategies and stuff and then forget about it the next day. This is more of a longer-term thing, and I think that once people get back into that, they remember that it was actually quite fun coming away knowing that you've learned something new.

Networking Opportunities

Being part of an apprenticeship gives you the chance to build a professional network. You'll connect with mentors, colleagues, and industry professionals along with other apprentices in a virtual classroom of learners from different organisations. In these sessions, delegates hear from experts, discuss theory and share experiences. Many of our learners say this is one of the best things about doing an apprenticeship. Here’s why:

There are a couple of guys on the course that I'm on, in an industry as far removed from the publishing world as you could possibly be. Getting those case studies and shared experiences from across different businesses, I think, has been the number one thing for me, because when you’re on normal sales training that's generally done within your company, you're in a bit of an echo chamber. You're all talking about the same challenges, you're all talking about the same solutions, whereas hearing about challenges that someone faces with a charity are so different and it enables you to think a little bit more and be a bit more creative with the solutions and think ‘Is there something they do that we could integrate into what we do?’

The input from a vast array of people from different industries has been invaluable and I don't think you can get that with in-house training, because you are all ultimately working for the same company. So, I think that's been the thing that I found the most useful. I found myself referring to examples from those industries that are totally removed from ours a lot more than I have from anything that's similar to what we've done. It broadens your horizons. It opens your eyes that there's a bigger world out there than just the world that you work in every day. In my case, publishing.

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Support and Mentorship

Itec apprenticeships offer a structured learning environment with mentorship. Rather than being left to navigate the role independently, you will receive guidance from experienced professionals who provide feedback and support your development. This form of coaching is invaluable at any stage of your career, whether you are new to the field or an experienced professional seeking to enhance your skills. About his support and mentorship Darryl shares:

Beverly has been great. She's my mentor. I can email her to ask a quick question about something and she gets back to me straight away. Communication has been top notch. It was the same when I was being enrolled on the course. They weren't pushy but just asked if there's anything they can do to help.

I did miss a couple of sessions and they were really understanding and gave me clear reassurances that I wouldn't miss out on anything. I was able to access the recordings of the sessions that I missed, and then I did ask to be added on to, like a follow up session for the project manager module, which I did.

I think that just shows that they're obviously very experienced in doing it, but they also understand that this is being done with your normal job, not just as a standalone qualification, where it's your primary focus or your only focus.

Itec give good communication, good deadlines and enough time to do the work.

The reviews are really useful as well. Getting that feedback as you're going along, so you know you're on the right track, or if there are certain things you need to focus on, has been brilliant.

You are really coached through it and additional support is there should you need it.

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Learning Outcomes and Personal Growth

Finally, apprenticeships can boost confidence. Stepping into something new and succeeding builds resilience and a sense of achievement. They’re a reminder that learning never stops. Here are Darryl’s learning outcomes in his own words:

On the Level 3 Team Leading course I've certainly gained a greater understanding of why we do these things and what the objectives are, firstly for me as the manager, but also for the business as a whole, and why we do that stuff.

I've been enabled and empowered to bring some of the findings from that back with me to share with my direct team, but also with other people in the industry or in the business that you know perhaps haven't been on this course or haven't done anything like this, and it makes it a lot more worthwhile, because not only are you getting a personal qualification out of it and something that you can add to your CV, you know, for future jobs and stuff, it enhances your presence within the business as well.

It's reawakened my passion for learning. Having not done it for quite some time, I saw it as a bit of a chore, but I have actually realised how much it's benefited me. I would like to do maybe a high-level apprenticeship, maybe some other training that's similar in its structure. I definitely think it'll be something I will do again.

?Rethinking what you thought you knew about apprenticeships and want to find out more? Contact the Itec team.