Name: Emily Batchelor
Age: 19
Organisation Description: The Scout Association – Charity sector
Date Started the PR Apprenticeship: 19th October 2015
What were you doing before your apprenticeship?
Before this apprenticeship I was completing my A-Levels at my Secondary School taking; Media, Photography and Sociology.
What attracted you to the PR Apprenticeship?
When I was completing my A-Levels there was a strong push from my school and peers to go to university and it felt like it was almost the only option. However I didn’t have the passion to jet off and dive into a course for another 4 years of my life - I felt ready to start my career.
I started to explore my options aside from university and an apprenticeship sounded like an ideal opportunity – the chance to work and get my career started whilst continuing my education (..and earning a little on the way) seemed like the perfect fit for me.
I enjoyed my Media course at school and love meeting new people. In just over a year I have met an abundance of new people from key influencers to other apprentices on the same journey as me.
What was the highlight of your PR Apprenticeship?
There have been so many highlights throughout my apprenticeship it’s hard to imagine that they all fitted into just over a year! But the one that stands out the most is:
Speakers Apartment event:
My first solo project was to coordinate the PR for an event The Scout Association held at the Speakers Apartment in Westminster. For this event time was key as we had a short amount of time to get a lot done.
This event was attended by a number of key figure heads; around 50 MP’s, celebrity ambassadors and some senior members of the organisation – a big PR day to be in the hands of an apprentice.
Although I cannot deny one of my highlights was the coverage we managed to achieve and the impact it had for our organisation. The main reason this event is my highlight is because of the amount of responsibility my team gave me and trusted me to deliver.
The idea of trusting such a big event to an apprentice in her first year of full time work I’m sure would make some people cringe, but knowing that my team had confidence in my abilities, despite my age or my role was a real highlight of my career.
What do you feel your apprenticeship helped you achieve?
This apprenticeship has helped me achieve a huge amount of confidence, not only in the way I present myself but also confidence in my work.
Top 3 skills a PR Apprentice needs:
- Confidence
- Drive
- Resilience
I love PR because…
Every day is different. When friends ask me ‘What do you do each day in the office’ I always struggle to give them a straight forward answer, because working in PR can mean that your schedule can change in an instant – and I love that.