For Adult Learning Week, a celebration of lifelong learning and the diverse paths people take to achieve their goals, we wanted to shine a spotlight on Ella, one of our inspiring learners. Ella champions apprenticeships as a proactive, empowering choice, and her story perfectly reflects what this week means to us – showcasing opportunities that help people thrive at every stage of life.
When leaving school, so many people feel that their only option is to go straight to university and never think to explore the alternatives available to them. Here at Educ8 Training, we believe that deciding what’s best for your future means seeing the whole picture.
Ella, Operations Technician for IMP Pharmaceutical Services LTD, started her role in April 2023 as a Project Management apprentice and went on to win Apprentice of the Year at the Caerphilly Business Awards in 2024.
Here’s how she decided that an apprenticeship was the best first step into a successful career.
Ella started as an Operations Technician after completing her A-Levels. She saw the role advertised with an apprenticeship qualification for Project Management, and believed it was a perfect combination of work experience and a reputable and versatile qualification allowing her to progress her career. Many of her friends had already gone to university, but taking inspiration from her partner, who had also done a workplace degree apprenticeship, she chose to take on an apprenticeship as well.
Ella said:
‘I would always recommend apprenticeships. I chose to do an apprenticeship over university. I had an unconditional offer, and I chose not to go. After looking at others my age and the situations they were in, I thought- no matter what the degree is I’m going to be in a lot of debt, and I didn’t want to do that if I could avoid it.’
The importance of experience in the workplace.
One of the major advantages Ella talks about in doing an apprenticeship is workplace experience. She has found that learning on the job suited her and has given her an advantage over a traditional university qualification.
‘I know a lot of people who have now left university and cannot get a job partly due to a lack of workplace experience. Due to the route I have chosen to take, I have valuable and transferrable work experience for a number of different careers. I can also choose to a degree in the future, if needed.’
She’s had the opportunity to take on major responsibilities and learn with hands on experience.
‘I take a key role in assisting the project managers and coordinators and becoming more involved in key project activities. Additionally, there were only two members of the operations department when I first joined, so I’ve also taken on a huge role in operational activities such as clinical label design, clinical label printing, and secondary packaging, management of clinical products, and despatching product to clinical trial sites. I really enjoyed learning about scheduling and management techniques during my apprenticeship, and I still use them today.’
The stigma around apprenticeships
Educ8 Training is keen to debunk that apprenticeships are limited in what they can offer you. Ella’s choice after A-Levels wasn’t an easy one to make, but because of the myths surrounding apprenticeships, it’s not something that everyone gets to decide for themselves.
Here’s what Ella has to say about the reputation of apprenticeships.
‘I think for a lot of people, and especially when I was in school, any alternative route wasn’t even discussed. Not everyone is going to enjoy university and not everyone can afford it. There is a massive stigma around apprenticeships. People think apprenticeships are only for those interested in trade work, but it’s more than that. You can do all the same things as you would in university with an apprenticeship.’
Ella completed her course earlier than scheduled at the end of 2024, thanks to the support of her company and is very excited to Gradu8 at our upcoming Graduation ceremony this September.
