Name: Harriet Shine
Age: 19
Organisation Description: Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Date Started the PR Apprenticeship: 12th December 2016
What were you doing before your apprenticeship?
I went to Sixth Form and did A-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Psychology. I got my results in August 2016 and applied for the apprenticeship in the same month. As my apprenticeship was with an NHS trust there was a vetting process that took a long time hence why I didn’t start the apprenticeship until December.
What attracted you to the PR Apprenticeship?
I had no idea what I wanted to do as a career, and didn’t want to waste 3 years and get in a huge amount of debt just for the sake of going to university. Apprenticeships appealed to me because you could still be working toward a qualification, but getting paid to do so as well as gaining valuable work experience. I wanted to do a higher apprenticeship, as I already had A-Levels and wanted to progress to a level 4 qualification, and the PR apprenticeship was a great fit for me as I had done English A-Levels along with a Media GCSE. The NHS trust the apprenticeship was with was also a mental health trust which fit well with my Psychology A-Level and so I applied!
What was the highlight of your PR Apprenticeship?
Joining my wonderful team. The people I work with supported me throughout the apprenticeship, pushed me to do my best, and still constantly help me to develop new skills.
What do you feel your apprenticeship helped you achieve?
Experience in a job role, the chance to develop a wide range of skills, and the chance to gain a qualification all whilst getting paid. So many industries require previous experience in order to be appointed a role, and graduates are often only able to gain this through unpaid work experience or internships, even after they have completed their degree. I now have this experience, along with my qualification and have been given a permanent role within my organisation upon completing my apprenticeship.
Top 3 skills a PR Apprentice needs:
- Determination
- Commitment
- Creativity
I love PR because…
Working in an in-house communications team my role is so varied and has allowed me to develop so many new skills. I am rarely doing the same thing two days in a row; I get the opportunity to work on a huge variety of projects, with so many different people and I am never bored!