When I first started my apprenticeship I honestly thought it would be a walk in the park. Up until a few weeks ago I was still in this mind set. To be completely honest I had been feeling very ambivalent towards my apprenticeship. I love working on the client work I do at Appletree. I wish I could say the same for the academic side of my apprenticeship. I found myself not completely my NVQ work which has led me to fall behind.

As part of my apprenticeship I have an assessor. She comes in to see me roughly once a month and our most recent meeting wasn’t great due to my lack of work towards the NVQ. I told my assessor that I was thinking of stopping my apprenticeship. I wanted to stop as I was getting so fed up with having to do NVQ work when I wanted to get on with client work. I was fed up with the financial struggle that comes with an apprenticeship. After the meeting I had a chat with Chantal (my boss). I thought that it was only fair that the company be kept in the loop if I was planning on leaving my apprenticeship. It was really helpful discussion and I was advised to think about it over the weekend and decide what to do on Monday.

I already had plans to see a friend over the weekend. So on Saturday morning I hopped on the ferry to the Isle of Wight. With the sun over my head and the sea in front of me I was at peace. I soon came to the conclusion that of course I should carry on and that I would be stupid if I left.  I suddenly remembered a few things about why I am doing this apprenticeship. Not to sound completely corny and Hollywood, but remembering why you started something in the first place really made a difference. As you can tell by this blog I made the decision to carry on.

Communication is the reason that I am still here at Appletree. Communication is the reason that I am now feeling a lot more positive about my NVQ work – which I am completing so much more efficiently. Ultimately communication is the reason that I won’t be struggling so much financially now. Since a meeting the following Monday everything is fantastic, my apprenticeship is back on track and the client work is still getting my full attention. I can safely say that I love my job again.

Are you thinking of starting an apprenticeship? If you are, then get in contact and I can give you a bit more insight into how it works.  If you are currently taking part in an apprenticeship then get in contact as I would love to hear how yours is coming along.