Why apprenticeships deliver on the career aspirations of young people

ABB has been running successful apprenticeship schemes across the business for more than 30 years. These have traditionally been made available in engineering and sales disciplines; however, the schemes available have expanded recently into other business functions and areas. Ellie Armitt recently joined my team as a marketing apprentice. It has been a success, with broad benefits for both the employer and employee. In this Q&A, I was asked about what makes an apprenticeship successful, and we find out from Ellie's perspective what the benefits have been for her career.

Kim, what do you think makes a successful apprenticeship scheme?

Finding the right talent is important and we are well supported here by our HR department with years of experience in sourcing apprentices. It is important to ensure the apprentice is well supported with both internal and external training and with so many apprentices a part of the ABB team there is excellent internal training here.

Would you offer any advice to a colleague or marketing manager in a similar situation that was thinking of taking on an apprentice?

When hiring an apprentice, it is important to remember that you gain an extra person to share the workload long-term, but as a mentor part of your week will be dedicated to training. Apprentices come straight from school and may not know things that we now take for granted such as how to use the office calendar or how to write a business email. To get the best of out an apprenticeship scheme you must remember they are there to learn, not to take up general administration tasks.

It is often the case that we learn things when we are mentoring. Do you think you have gained from the experience?

It is important to listen and take on feedback, so I quickly developed my skills as a coach. 

It is a tough transition from schoolwork and a recognisable school day to a longer workday with commute and new tasks and challenges. The interesting thing about teaching some of the basics such as diary management or professional email communication, is that it can make you evaluate everything you do yourself from time management to first principles of how you manage your own time.

I have been impressed by how quickly Ellie learns to use new software often picking up tips and tricks and sharing them with me, so the learning can sometimes be a two-way street.

Ellie, what led you to apply for the Marketing Apprenticeship at ABB and how did you find out about the opportunity?

Ellie: I applied for lots of marketing apprenticeships, especially in digital marketing. I knew that I did not want to head to university. I did an internship at AVON in Northampton. I got that position through a family friend that worked there. I worked alongside the digital manager and created short videos and gifs for Instagram. In the two weeks I was there I did a photoshoot in London for nail polish and covered the whole process of video creation from end-to-end, working with the editing team and with agencies to get it finished.

It was a really good experience and that had some influence on my decision to get into marketing.

Did you have advice from school, college or your parents to consider applying for an apprenticeship?

Ellie: The experiences of my family influenced my decision to choose an apprenticeship over University. I have older cousins that were not convinced of the benefits of university. I also have a friend doing and accountancy apprenticeship to complete her accountancy degree. I would say friends and family influenced my decision, but I did all the research on my own. My school was very university focused. We had tutor group sessions dedicated to how to fill in UCAS applications for University. I went to careers fairs which were a great opportunity to talk to businesses about the apprenticeship schemes they offered, but they were always in engineering, IT or Hair & Beauty, never in marketing. I ended up doing my own research via the government apprenticeship website, but found roles by going through recruitment agencies to find marketing apprenticeships.

 Ellie, How do you find working with the team at ABB?

 The team at ABB is a little family. Everyone knows everyone and they have worked there for a long time. I have been treated as a peer since I joined. Everyone has time to explain their product and how it works. One of the managers has said, ‘I forget you’re an apprentice. I see you as part of the team’. I am treated the same as everyone else.

Ellie pictured second from the left, Kim pictured on the right of the photograph

 What are the top 3 things you have learned so far in your apprenticeship? These can be general working world related.

 1)     Managing my time – I was always very organised, but not very good at saying no to stuff, and now I am better at organising thanks to a training course I did here that talked through a Priority to Urgency chart Eisenhour diagram, I now organise my day that way. I am still bad at saying no but have learned how to manage that.

2) It's ok to make mistakes – yes you are held accountable at ABB, but I am learning, I have support.

3)     These apprenticeships are what you make of them – you could cruise, but if you put in 110% you get that much back. The better I do my job the more people within an organisation notice the work that I do. Go in with a positive attitude you are going to do well.

Is there a group of Apprentices at ABB?

 Yes. ABB is a huge company and we have several sites in the UK as well as across the globe. I am based at the Stonehouse site – I am the only one doing marketing. All the others are doing engineering.

 We are a network; I can call on this group any time and you always have each other. If I have HR questions, I will go to Lauren the apprentice in HR, and equally I help Lauren with making videos.

 Did you feel it was important when you applied for the apprenticeship to work for a large organisation like ABB?

 There were two companies in my shortlist, one was ABB and the other an IT company nearer my home with 11 other employees. I felt I would have more support in a large organisation.

You might be exposed to more responsibility in a small organisation, but I don’t feel like I have lacked responsibility here. In autumn last year I organised a big Channel Partners Meeting event. It was scary being responsible for those bigger projects, but I knew my manager was there if I needed her, and the senior managers at ABB believed in me to do the job.

 Do you think schools and colleges could do more to promote apprenticeships?

 I think they could do more to give students more information about all the options available. I think part of the problem is our culture. I tend not to tell people in conversation that I am doing an apprenticeship, because they are seen by many as a lesser form of education – that needs to change. More awareness will help change the culture.

 Could there be improvements made in educating people about the benefits of apprenticeships? If so, what could change?

Yes, giving more exposure to those people who are high up within business and how apprenticeships are their route to success. You often only hear about university being the route to a successful career. You can look at Bill Gates and Richard Branson saying they dropped out of university and did their own thing. That is a good start, but they’re a certain personality type and aren’t as easy to identify with as people from your community.

 Les Slocombe is our Head of Orders at the Factory. Like many people here, he has worked his way up through the organisation. He also benefited from the discipline an apprenticeship gives you.

 Do you think that companies themselves could do more to promote apprenticeships?

 Yes, ABB has a graduate program, an apprenticeship scheme and offers internships, but they are not widely advertised.

 ABB partners with Imperial College London and we recently ran a virtual Graduate day at Imperial College. Promoting apprenticeships and graduate careers days is a good way for ABB to access new recruits but it's also a good marketing opportunity for the company as a whole. This picture is from a previous day at Imperial College London.

Are there things you feel you have learned doing the job that you may not have learned in a classroom setting?

Yes, I have built up skills in working with different people. For example, one of our senior managers is lovely and wonderful at his job, he is also VERY detail-oriented. I must proof things three or four times before I send them to Steve. I have learned how to pitch ideas differently to different people.

 So, would you recommend an apprenticeship?

 Yes, I would recommend an apprenticeship. I have a good mentor; she is firm but fair and a great person to learn from. I am treated as an employee and equal, rather than feel like a student or an apprentice. I am part of the team.

Ellie has been an apprentice at ABB for just over a year and has a further 3 months to go in her training. To find out more about apprenticeships available at ABB visit https://new.abb.com/uk/careers/opportunities/students/apprentices.