Production Apprentice Review

My placement is within BBC Three. My tasks vary a lot depending on which department I am placed with. Sometimes I may help the production management team, other times I may be doing research for the development team. Sometimes the other apprentices and I will have our own project which we develop, research, film and put together ourselves. I enjoy the variation in my day to day activities and it allows me to gain invaluable and varied experience.

As well as working towards my level 3 qualification in The certificate of creative content and production, I have gained and developed many skills already. My confidence has increased significantly, and I have definitely improved my communication skills since being on the scheme. I have had lots of training, some including: camera and edit training, copy right training and production management training. I have learnt how to behave in an office environment and about the importance of effective communication in order to pull a project together collaboratively.

I enjoy my programme a great deal, I wake up excited to come into work each morning. I have gained invaluable skills, experience and met some great people and made great relationships. I feel comfortable in the office environment which actually surprised me quite a lot as I am very introverted. I feel as though it is a very relaxed environment which was a huge relief as I was worried it may be more stressful than I have found it to be so far.

I feel very valued and feel as though my work and efforts are greatly appreciated and recognised. From the start I was involved in creating content that was shared on social media which was an extremely rewarding experience for me. I am treated as an equal despite initial worries that I would be treated like an "under dog" due to the fact I am an apprentice. I feel as though my opinions are sought after and taken seriously.

Initially I felt as though there was a bit of confusion between who I should go to about what; for example, whether the scheme managers would help me with any concerns I had or whether it was down to my managers within my placement. Despite this, if I were to experience any problems, I feel supported and as though there are plenty of people/places I could go to with any issues I may have. We have an assessor who has regular reviews with us to make sure we are on track to succeeding which is always reassuring. I enjoy the balance between training and work placement.

When required, I receive plenty of support from my training provider. Despite this, I sometimes feel as though I am bothering people if I go to them with certain types of issues which would discourage me from relying on them regularly if I felt as though I needed to. I enjoy training a great deal.

Despite initial concerns, I now feel very secure and supported by managers at work. They frequently check that everything is okay for us and ensure we have enough work to do as our work load was initially quite small. If I had any problems I would feel comfortable going to them with my concerns and feel confident that they would help me solve the problem.

Most of my salary goes on travel to work which is extremely expensive and takes a very long time due to the fact I live quite far away from the office. Due to my long and tiring commute, I am hoping to move closer to my office but I am worried that I would become stressed as living costs would be very expensive and most of my money would go on rent as opposed to my travel as it does at the moment. I currently live at home with my parents so I do not have things like food or bills to pay for, which I would have if I moved out. I don't do a lot socially that costs money as I prefer to save what little money I have left over each month in the hope of saving for a house in the near future.

There are many opportunities, although I often can't participate to my dismay due to the fact it takes me so long to get to and from work. I very much enjoyed the office xmas party as it was a chance to get to know different people from different areas and departments within my office who I would not normally get a chance to communicate with.

Yes

There is a great support network within the BBC. Any kind of issue whether it be an IT issue or a personal issue such as a mental health issue can be helped with a quick phone call or a mouse click on a computer. Staff are extremely well looked after within the company and everybody works extremely hard to appeal to audiences through entertainment, informing and education. Aside from the practical elements, the BBC is such a highly and widely regarded company which means I have a great deal of pride to work for the corporation.

Be yourself. Be passionate, be real and be honest. If you are truly passionate about creating content, educating, informing and entertaining, it will show through your honest answers to any interview questions. Have confidence in your own abilities on assessment days, every body is in the same boat, every body is nervous and probably don't know what to expect either. I don't think there's anything I would have liked to have been told; I pleasantly surprised myself with my confidence despite being out of my comfort zones on the assessment days and during the interview process.