Owen Emery - National Apprenticeship Week

What attracted you to Pick Everard?

The initial attraction to Pick Everard for me was the opportunity to get involved with experienced professionals across a range of disciplines, while working on live projects. I was aware that working client-side would give me the chance to work on a variety of jobs at all different stages, particularly from start to finish. Following my initial interview, I learned that Pick Everard had a good relationship with Nottingham Trent University and that there were currently other members of staff studying and working through the same route as me. This gave me confidence in the support that was available for apprentices within the business.

Could you tell us a little bit about your programme of study and how it’s structured?

I am currently on a 5-year degree apprenticeship course with Nottingham Trent University, this course includes the exact same content as the full-time course does, but it is spread over 5 years rather than the standard 3-years of a full-time course. Having the additional years has allowed for a good balance of learning new content at university but also working and gaining valuable experience with Pick Everard. Being in university 1 day a week means I have a good amount of regular contact time with tutors and other students on my course, I also have quarterly reviews involving my university and workplace to integrate what I study with my working experience.

What advice do you have for an individual who is considering studying via an apprenticeship?

Ask questions and make the most of the resources and experiences available to you that full-time students don’t necessarily have access to. Working in a team or an office environment, where there are people with a great amount of experience is highly valuable when it comes to learning on the job. Being on-site regularly is another experience that is hard to come by, outside of an apprenticeship, it is important not only to be aware of processes and stages in a project but to see how they are executed on a job adds another layer of understanding.

What has been the highlight of your apprenticeship journey so far?

Having the chance to head out to various celebration events for projects and awards with the business has been a highlight during my journey to date. Seeing the number of people involved in delivering a successful project, come together to celebrate the completion of a job was something completely different to the various day-to-day tasks I would usually carry out. I was also able to attend a Midlands business awards evening in which Pick Everard won an award for success in people development at the back end of last year, which was great to see as somebody who benefits directly from the time put into this area of the business.