11/07/2017, The end of my apprenticeship: Since the PRCA Apprenticeship scheme launched 6 years ago, over 240 non-university-goers have kick started their career in PR. I, Ella Porter, today officially an Account Executive, was one of those people.
On A-Level results day I was overwhelmed with celebration; opening my letter to see A*-C grades and receiving an acceptance onto the English Literature course at The University of Kent, I cried with joy.
However, the truth is, I was never convinced by university, or even passionate about English Literature. I was a literature student who wasn’t fussed about reading.
During my first term, I found myself sat miserably in my room with no motivation to complete my assignments and no motivation to go to my lectures. By December I dropped the dreaded bomb on my parents ‘I am quitting University. I have no plan B yet but it’ll be fine’. All I knew was that I wanted to carry on learning and continue to develop personally.
At this point I started to look into Apprenticeships on the GOV website and found the PRCA apprenticeship scheme. Admittedly, I didn’t know much about public relations but decided it was worth a shot. After being accepted by a few different companies, I decided to go with BCM Public Relations as I also knew absolutely nothing about their energy, tech, manufacturing and aerospace industries, and I like a challenge!
A PR apprenticeship allowed me to work a fulltime job, get paid and gain a qualification. I was able to work on a small team with 5 clients, which meant that I had interaction with the clients and media from day one. I am now in the same career position as a graduate, if not, a better position as I have gained work experience.
I’m not saying one higher education path is better than the other (as I am still open to doing a degree), I’m just saying you need to consider all your options. University is great if you really know what you want to do, but if you’re like myself, who couldn’t decide what I wanted to be when I ‘grow up’, don’t jump into a minimum 3-year commitment and a lifetime debt just yet, look elsewhere!
If you’re still struggling have a look at: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/apprenticeships/sho...