What’s it like to do an apprenticeship with Whyy Change?

We’ve been delivering lots of apprenticeship courses recently. They’re becoming more popular as companies in the Sheffield city region find out that they can use their apprenticeship levy to help their teams achieve professional training.

Apprentices learn skills really quickly

Some businesses still feel that apprenticeships are only for young people who are just out of education, that they’re a draw on the manager’s time, or that they’re not effective. Since we’ve been delivering, we’ve found that it’s quite the opposite – apprentices learn management, leadership, marketing and continuous improvement skills really quickly. They take their learning straight back into the workplace from week one and begin applying new ways of working and thinking almost immediately.

Confidence and capability improves

The managers and HR  leaders we work with tell us that they see a big difference in the confidence and capability of the people who come to work with us. When we’ve trained someone, they come back to do the next level or they send a colleague or five to join us.

The learning we offer is very different to other apprenticeship providers. We keep class sizes small and we tailor courses to meet individual learner needs. We also take the learners through professional qualifications with the Chartered Management Institute and Chartered Institute of Marketing. This means they get industry-recognised professional qualifications as well as passing their apprenticeship.

Tailored training

For example, we’re currently running a digital marketer apprenticeship that’s accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing. The learners are doing a level 3 apprenticeship, but they will achieve the level 4 CIM certificate in professional marketing.  It’s above and beyond the learning that’s required for the apprenticeship, and it will catapult our learners to the next level of their career. On the course we have people who really need to improve their sales skills, so we’re delivering sales-specific training and mentoring as part of the course.

Learners come to our training centre for half a day each week. They have focused training and they’re tested through discussions, role play, activities, and exercises. They work alongside people from different companies so they get a feel for their profession in a broader context.

Professional tutors

Our tutors are professionals, not academics. They have years of industry experience and are still working in their field as well as tutoring. So the learners get a real taste of working life in marketing, management or continuous improvement, not just the theory.

Find out more

To find out about our apprenticeships and have a  chat about how we can tailor our courses to meet the need of your team, get in touch.