Part of our apprentice panel podcasts, Jamilah Simpson our apprentice panel host interviews member, Nikki Greaves.

 

Nikki Greaves, 20, is currently completing her level 5 laboratory science apprenticeship with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

 

Transcript

Jamilah Simpson:

Hi, I'm Jamilah Simpson the Multiverse Community Programs and Networks Associate. I joined Multiverse early last year after completing my digital marketing qualification as an apprentice at Google. I'm also an apprentice panel member and your host for this podcast. Today we're joined by Nikki. Nikki did you quickly want to intro yourself before we get started

Nikki Greaves:

Hi, I'm Nikki a laboratory science apprentice for GSK currently in my third year now.

Jamilah Simpson:

Thank you, Nikki, we're so glad to have you here today. So, I've got a few questions for you. Starting with, as we both chose the apprenticeship route, I think we can both agree that there are so many benefits to them. What drew you into your apprenticeship?

Nikki Greaves:

So it's weird actually, I knew in sixth form that I wanted to go into a sciencey kind of lab-based career, and I was actually really set on doing a Biomed kind of degree at uni. My school was very like forward at pushing us down the uni kind of route, and it was only one day when I was looking at the government website that I actually stumbled upon the GSK apprenticeship,  and I was actually really intrigued. Because probably like quite a few other people I just assumed that apprenticeships were like carpentry and plumbing. Obviously, that sounds really bad, but I really didn't have much of a clue of what apprenticeships actually were. So when I saw this advertisement basically being like you can have a degree and learn hands-on I was pretty much like wow, this is actually exactly what I want. Because obviously the whole sitting in lectures, and that's just not how I learn and I was actually really worried about that aspect of uni. So actually, getting a hands-on was so much better for me, so I applied immediately.

Jamilah Simpson:

I had the exact same reaction because I didn't have a lot of information about apprenticeships when I was at college either. When I found out that there's so many different industries that you can go in to, I got really excited. I actually found my apprenticeship through my mum, so similar to you, my school wasn't helpful at all.

Nikki Greaves:

I honestly didn't even know they existed like at all.

Jamilah Simpson:

So Nikki your apprenticeship sounds really, really interesting and I'd love to know more about what you do day-to-day.

Nikki Greaves:

So, the usual day for me consists of helping my team set up and run studies. Where we basically look at how different compounds work. So how they work in the body if they're going to the right places and doing what we want them to do basically. A particularly interesting project that I've been involved in, was working on an HIV project where we looked at the potential for a treatment to take place twice a year rather than the current treatment regime, which is administered monthly.

Jamilah Simpson:

Wow sounds like pretty important stuff. So as you know we've all been going through a really tough time over the past year as a nation. Being a laboratory scientist, have you had an opportunity to support with COVID- 19?

Nikki Greaves:

Unfortunately not. I would have absolutely loved to be involved, but my team and I have just had a lot of work that's ongoing. Like I have been in work as a key worker, but it hasn't been COVID involved. Although I have actually signed up to be a volunteer for the mass vaccinating and actually GSK like alongside the NHS organised that for some of the employees. So I'm doing that.

Jamilah Simpson:

That’s amazing. You mentioned that you're a key worker does that mean that you still go into your place of work?

Nikki Greaves:

Yeah, so pretty much throughout the lockdown we were going in on a like shift kind of pattern. So that

Part of our apprentice panel podcasts, Jamilah Simpson our apprentice panel host interviews new member, Amy Marren.

Amy, 22, is a level 7 solicitor apprentice at BPP. She is also a double Paralympic swimmer, competing in the last two Paralympic Games, winning a bronze medal at Rio.

Transcript

Jamilah Simpson

Hi, I'm Jamilah Simpson, the Multiverse community programmes and networks associate. I joined Multiverse early last year after completing my digital marketing qualification as an apprentice at Google. I'm also an apprentice panel member and your host for this podcast. Today we're joined by Amy. Amy, did you want to tell us a little bit about yourself before we get started?

 

Amy Marren

Hello, my name is Amy Marren. I am a Level 7 solicitor apprentice. I work in house at BPP as well as studying with BPP. I'm also retired, double Paralympic swimmer. Just add things to the mix a little bit. I've been in my role now well I've been at BPP now since February 2017. So well established and enjoy myself too.

 

Jamilah Simpson

Wow level 7. That's absolutely amazing. What drew you into an apprenticeship?

 

Amy Marren

So, I think my apprenticeship journey, so to speak, hasn't really been as straightforward as me just deciding one day that I wanted to do an apprenticeship. So, I finished my A levels in the June of 2016, and I went to sixth form school. So, I think with sixth form schools there's quite a big push towards going to university. So, for me I thought that was really the only options, and actually I followed the course and I started at a university in September of 2016, after coming back from Rio. Um so fair to say there's a fair bit of my plate at that point and decided that the university life really wasn't for me. Um, so I made the decision to leave and started applying for apprenticeships in the January of 2017. Wasn't 100% sure on the industry that I wanted to be in, but what really appealed to me was the whole dynamics of working and studying at the same time. I think I'm much more of a practical, hands-on person, so the experience I get of learning alongside established, people in that industry so professionals, I think is invaluable.

 

Jamilah Simpson

Aw, that's good. At least you had like the experience of going to university, realised that wasn't really for you. And then you went to apprenticeships and now you are really enjoying it. I'm assuming so, you found your niche.

 

Amy Marren

I found my niche that's a nice way to put it I like, I feel like I need that on a T shirt.

 

Jamilah Simpson

I can send you a T shirt with that printed on.

 

Amy Marren

Yeah, that be great. I’ll love that parade that round the streets, go to the next panel meetings with it on. I'd love it.

 

Jamilah Simpson

Be amazing. So, I'm really interested to know more about your solicitors apprenticeship and like anyone listening and myself I don't fully understand what a solicitors job is so could you explain what is involved in your solicitors apprenticeship?

 

Amy Marren

So to give you bit of background. This is just solicitors apprenticeship and the paralegal apprenticeships were introduced just to make the industry and the whole world of law a little bit more accessible to people. I think it's quite an old fashion industry that there's just it's viewed there's just one normal route, so you do your law degree. You do your legal practice course. 2 year training contract and then you'd fall into a job hopefully at the end of it. So my apprenticeship is basically all of those levels and all of those exams, and that whole process just condensed into one big program with the intention of sitting the solicitors qualifying exam at the end, which again is another thing that's been introduced just to make the industry that little more accessible to everyone. I think it's really cool that they're doing that now. It's nice to know that you're part of this new dynamic workforce that is going to bring a bit of a change. So, like I said, combin

For National Apprenticeship Week, our apprentice panel asked 10 questions to Gillian Keegan, Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills.

Transcript

Jamilah Simpson:

Hi, I'm Jamilah Simpson the Multiverse community programs and networks associate I joined multiverse early last year after completing my digital marketing qualification as an apprentice at google I'm also an apprentice panel member and your host for this podcast.  We have a very special podcast today I'm joined by Gillian, Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills who will be answering questions submitted by the apprentice panel. As the first former apprentice to hold the role of Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills can you tell me more about your apprenticeship journey?

Gillian Keegan:

Yeah sure, and thanks for inviting me to do this it's fantastic. I love talking about apprenticeships and I think you find that anybody who's done apprenticeship becomes the world's biggest fan of the route. Pretty much everyone who's done one knows that they are fantastic. So I left school at 16. I grew up in a place called Knowsley, which I went to the normal comprehensive school it's kind of known for its social deprivation. You know there weren't that very many options if I'm honest when I left school in the 80s, very high youth unemployment then as well. But I was really lucky to get the opportunity to do an apprenticeship and it was what would now be called a rotational degree-level apprenticeship. it never had anything like that fancy name it was just called an apprenticeship in a car factory. But I started at 16 and they sponsored me right the way up to degree levels. So it was a life changer and in terms of social mobility, it completely changed the outcome of my life.

Jamilah Simpson:

Wow, that's amazing. I completely agree when I finished my apprenticeship I became the biggest advocate for apprenticeships because like you said you're just a bit biased once you've completed one. So my first question is do you think apprenticeships can help maintain the UK's reputation as a great place to do business and invest in given the UK's recent departure from the European Union.

Gillian Keegan:

Yes, but I think what we can't underestimate is there's actually a global skills shortages of many different skills now across the world. Now clearly those you know obvious ones like digital and tech and anything, I mean I know you did a digital marketing apprenticeship, so you'll be highly valued all over the world because obviously everybody wants those skills and they're relatively new skills that people are developing and you know many businesses are looking for more and more people who you know can help them in that new world. So I think the key thing is having the skills. You know I've worked in many many businesses, I've worked for about 30 years before becoming an MP, and then in this job now, and every single business I've worked in wherever it's been in the world you're always if you're looking to make investment decisions, you always look at what skills are available. People make any business successful and that their absolute essence of any business so looking to be able to build the teams and to be able to get access to the skills is a critical success criteria for any investment decision. However, I'll tell you I think the UK does stand in a very strong position, both because we have some natural assets our language is a natural asset everybody speaks English here native English, in most cases. But also we have some other assets as well what we're trying to do is make sure our apprenticeship system and our technical education system becomes a national asset that will ensure we close those skills gaps faster than most other people.

Jamilah Simpson:

 Cool. I think you made a really good point on the transferable skills that you learn from apprenticeships and the experience of being in a workplace. Which actually leads on to my next question of what future do you see for