Celebrating our apprentices: Alfie's story | News

Alfie West, 23:  “I like to think I’m organised and motivated. I’m definitely motivated by deadlines and if I have a schedule to work to, I find that helpful.”

Which apprenticeship? Business Administration Level 3

Time it takes? The course takes a minimum of a year and a maximum of 18 months. I’m almost at the end now.

What made you decide to do an apprenticeship? I went to university to study Law and after I finished, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. I was going for job interviews but didn’t have any work experience so I thought I would take a step back and think about getting some experience first. I saw the apprenticeship advertised and thought it was a great opportunity to get some experience and bolster my CV.

Pros and cons? I was nervous when I was revising for my exam as it covered all of the work from the previous 18 months, but it was fine when it came to it. I feel confident about my final assessment as it involves a presentation based on the work that I’m doing in HR.

I have a day a week that is set aside as my 20% ‘off the job’ training day, so on Mondays I do my apprenticeship studying. I also try and relate a lot of my coursework to the day-to-day work I’m doing so it’s quite easy to manage everything.

Advice to others thinking of doing an apprenticeship? You need to be prepared to put the work in and think seriously about what you’re deciding to do before you start an apprenticeship. But always know that there are people to talk to if you need help, don’t think you’re on your own.