Q&A with our apprentice
This week is #NationalApprenticeshipWeek so we took the opportunity to ask our fabulous apprentice Maya some questions about her experience as an apprentice at Wise & Zeal.
Tell us a little bit about you and your role at Wise & Zeal
I’m Maya, I’m 17 and I’m apprenticing as the Digital Marketing Assistant at Wise & Zeal. In my role I mostly look after scheduling social posts and measuring their results, creating and editing visual content using tools like Photoshop and trialling generative AI. Sometimes I also proof written content. I’m about to learn how to edit the website which will be interesting as I already use Google Analytics to measure how the site is performing, so it will be good to extend my web skills. I’m lucky because the Wise & Zeal team have given me interesting work, but I also have to make tea and clean up.
What made you decide to do an apprenticeship?
I was looking for a way to get some professional experience after I had completed my GCSEs and whilst I was waiting to start further education. This week I start an Open University course on Criminology and Psychology, and what I like about my apprenticeship is it’s flexible with my course, and I can learn about psychology in marketing at work.
What’s been the highlight of your apprenticeship so far?
Definitely the places I’ve been for work – including a photoshoot in London – and the people I’ve met. I would say I enjoy doing photo editing the most – I’d learnt how to do this for Photography GCSE, so it’s been good to apply that knowledge in a real environment and get to experiment with generative AI.
What’s the most valuable skill you’ve learnt?
The most valuable skill has been communication – it’s obviously very important in the workplace, especially working as part of a busy team and is vital to getting the job done. We use email, Slack and Zoom to communicate as I have colleagues all over the UK and it’s been interesting to learn about communicating in a remote working company, as well as the more traditional face to face workplace.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt?
Being organised, I work between two locations so I have to make sure I have everything with me at all times, keep on top of messages, know what I need to do and by when, and let the team know where I am with projects and ask for help.
Do you have any advice for anyone who is considering doing an apprenticeship?
Definitely do it, because it’s really fun and you learn a lot while doing it. You can find apprenticeships online, but do ask friends and family if the companies they work for offer apprenticeships. You can even write to companies you’d like to work for and offer yourself as an apprentice. You don’t need to be nervous because you’re there to learn and no one expects you to know it all!
