Andrew Clarke is currently completing his degree apprenticeship at The ONE Group, and works full time as a Resourcing Specialist in Information Technology with the company. He is a champion of apprenticeships as a route into employment, and discusses his experience of being an apprentice below.
Why did you decide to apply for an apprenticeship?
I thought an apprenticeship was the best of both worlds – you can learn while you earn. You get real career experience while earning a salary! What’s not to like?
What was the application process like?
The application process started with a telephone screening with one of the talent partners, who wanted to find out more about myself, what kind of things I was looking for and to talk through a little more about The ONE Group.
Can you describe your role and what a typical day looks like for you?
At the moment my role is focused on resourcing and finding candidates for IT Support and Infrastructure roles in and around the Cambridge area.
A typical day starts with clearing emails, looking through job boards, speaking to candidates about job opportunities and, if suitable, formatting their CVs to send off to clients.
How are you finding balancing work and learning as part of your apprenticeship? Do you receive support from your employer?
We get 20% off a week, which equates to one day – which I spend either attending university lectures, or completing coursework at home with the help from the university website, which has a program for us to follow.
The ONE Group are fantastic in supporting us through the course. They offer workshops to help us find out more about the back office running of the business – information we wouldn’t usually know about.
What are the progression opportunities in your role?
I am now starting to take on little bits of the client side of the position, to be a more rounded recruiter. The next official level would be an associate consultant.
What would you say to those considering taking the apprenticeship pathway?
I would encourage them to do it! What’s not to love about getting commercial experience while earning a full time salary!
