Apprenticeships at Exeter College

An Apprenticeship is for people of all ages, 16+, to help kick-start a career in a job that suits their skills and interests, to facilitate a career change, or for people who would like to progress in their current role. With Apprenticeships now in a wide variety of sectors and roles, and at different levels, there is a programme with Exeter College for you.

Somerset Council

At Somerset Council, Catherine Temple is a Business Intelligence Analyst. They said;

“We value having apprentices in the workplace and we want to encourage both the recruitment of apprentices and upskilling of current employees wherever possible and since 2020, Somerset Council has supported 474 apprentices through various qualifications with a mixture of recruited apprentices and upskilled staff.

“Apprenticeships are becoming more of a viable option in the workplace due to the increasing variety of courses available. We are now able to support employees across all educational apprenticeship stages, GCSE to Master’s Degree equivalent qualifications.” 

Read Catherine’s story below…

I started the 2 year, Level 4 Data Analytics Apprenticeship last September at Exeter College. Our class has members from Somerset Council, Devon County Council, South West Water, and various private sector companies.

The course consists of 20% “off the job” training, in the main this is one day per week at college, during college holidays we work on our portfolios and projects. I am extremely fortunate to have a supportive and understanding manager who has been invaluable at finding opportunities for me to put into practice what I am learning.

I have learnt an enormous amount since beginning my apprenticeship and it has really helped me in my day-to-day work. The friends I have made at college and our brilliant lecturer have helped me at times where I have struggled, in particular with coding which I had never done before! I have relished the learning experience, especially learning the latest analytical techniques and where best to use them. In addition, I am enjoying designing and delivering the presentations which are preparing us for the end point assessments with external assessors.

In May, I was honoured to be asked to present to the alumni at Exeter College’s digital summit. I talked about the apprenticeship, the highs, and lows, how it has helped me, how I have used what I have learnt, and what I will do next with the knowledge and experience. I received incredibly positive feedback from the attendees who said it was nice to see someone so enthusiastic and open to sharing their experience.

Learn more about Apprenticeships at our next Open Event.