Pursuing a career while obtaining an education

This week is National Apprentice week in the United Kingdom. To celebrate, we’ve asked five of our apprentices to share their experience with us. Noor Sheikh, Victor Batista Vilela, Charlie Meek, Matthew Rowe and Vishali Chander are all working in Cyber Security and Technology as part of their apprenticeship with Maersk.

What does an apprenticeship entail?

Noor: It is a life changing opportunity to be an apprentice as there is a lot to learn. Getting that early exposure to work experiences does truly help you become a better candidate when applying for professional job roles and gives you good insight to what your future career could hold for you. I have 8 hours a week to focus on my education. This really aids in balancing the workload and being able to keep up with my apprenticeship duties.

Victor: Being an apprentice has more responsibility attached to it than I initially thought. In the first couple weeks we were already starting projects with teams in the organization and submitting them! Which was a welcomed surprise for me.

Why did you choose to do an apprenticeship?

Noor: I am more of a practical person; in my eyes nothing can beat hands-on experience. From a young age, I knew university was not for me as an apprenticeship provides a lot more than a university experience.

Charlie: I feel like I learn better with hands on training. University was never something I was interested in, since most of the things I would learn I would not be able to apply to my exact role. I found that an apprenticeship was the perfect way to get into the industry I wanted to be in without being thrown in at the deep end. It was a good transition from education to a career.

Matthew: When I finished my university Mathematics Degree, I decided that I hadn’t built enough confidence to jump straight into a full-time office job. So, I took the opportunity to gain another qualification but also build my social and work environment skills by taking a Data Essentials apprenticeship.

Any cool projects you get to work on as an apprentice?

Vishali: In my role as a cyber risk analyst, I looked at emerging risks that could probably be a threat to Maersk in a few years’ time.

Charlie: I am now in a team that is implementing a new cost allocation tool, which will allow us to have more transparency into the cost of IT for the business.

What would you highlight as one of the best things about being an apprentice?

Noor: You get to learn so much and gain a qualification for free while also earning a wage.

Victor: I would say that the money you earn is great, and the perks from the business are good too. But the best part is being able to connect and talk to people who have been in this line of work for years, and sometimes decades. The amount of advice I got from talking and connecting to different people has been invaluable!

What has been one of your biggest learnings as an apprentice?

Noor: One of the biggest things I will always remember is that “no question is a silly question”.

Charlie: My biggest learning starting this apprenticeship has been adjusting to a professional office environment. I previously worked in a café so adjusting to the pace of working in an office and the language used has been big for me. Becoming more organized with my approach to work and allowing time for replies and feedback has been a new learning experience.

Who would you recommend taking an apprenticeship and why?

Noor: Anyone who wants a change or start a career. Apprenticeships are a great route to getting a step into the career you are passionate about.

Matthew: I would recommend taking an apprenticeship to anyone who is looking for a new adventure or trying to find the best route to their ideal job.