'The ambitious reap the rewards'

At 19 years old and straight after her A-levels, Rachel Allder knew that she wanted to go into commercial business. She was already switched on to the idea of communicating with customers and fascinated by the psychology behind completing a deal. Her ambition was clear and an apprenticeship was the natural choice for her.

On her own initiative, Rachel spoke with industry professionals who gave her a further insight into the commercial world. Through her research, Rachel discovered all the attractive benefits that Degree Apprenticeships have: on-the-job training, earning while you learn from industry professionals and a degree qualification.

Rachel secured a Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship with Pladis, one of the of the world’s leading snacking companies and home to household brands like McVitie’s. Pladis chose to partner with the University of West London as the training provider for this apprenticeship.

All degree apprenticeships combine formal study with real-world work experience. The formal learning through University modules can be immediately applied at work. Rachel has enjoyed this aspect and found that modules like Professional Skills and ICT have helped her keep pace with her colleagues, most of whom have a University degree.

Learning through an apprenticeship is more applied than even the most vocational of degree courses. There’s a genuine exposure to real commercial priorities and challenges, which helps develop flexible thinking, creative problem-solving and mental agility (characteristics that are highly prized by business employers). Rachel credits her colleagues too – whose encouragement has really built her confidence. Having experienced a great team dynamic, Rachel now knows that this will be critical for her future career satisfaction.

All apprentices are mentored by an experienced professional within their workplace, it’s a key principle that underpins the supportive learning environment. Rachel has certainly found this mentor-mentee relationship to be enriching.

My mentor really values the importance of being there to guide me, whilst letting me learn and make mistakes by myself to learn and grow from.

– Rachel

Rachel has experienced so much over a short space of time. However, the highlight of her University experience to-date has been presenting to a group of Chinese delegates about her apprenticeship. An experience that Rachel found 'extremely rewarding and loved every moment of'. Whilst at work, one of Rachel's favourite moments has been hosting a stall at the National Apprenticeship Show in Bolton. Here, Rachel acted as an ambassador and spoke to future apprentices, their parents and teachers about her apprenticeship experience.

So, what advice would Rachel give to someone considering undertaking an apprenticeship?

Learn, grow and make a positive impact. I think that applies to any apprenticeship or role, but I truly believe you need to have a positive outlook to have a positive career. Try to meet as many people from as many different functions in the business as possible too. You need to be able to understand and appreciate different roles to understand the whole company

– Rachel

What does the future have in store for Rachel? Excluding the obvious point of being financially stable, her driver is to work with a great team. 'I am still figuring out exactly what career I want to go into,' Rachel explains. She continues, 'but whatever it is I can imagine it will be people orientated. In an ideal world, I would love to be at a high managerial role by the time I am 30, as by that point I will have 12 years commercial experience.'

https://www.pladisglobal.com/