Rating

9.1/10
  • 1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
  • I'm a BBC Digital Journalist Apprentice, after becoming competent throughout my training my daily roles now include attending the morning news prospect meeting, sharing my ideas and developing others, applying a 'digital first' focus to news, sourcing and conducting research for stories, filming and interviewing, editing video and uploading it to social media and the BBC online pages, writing tight and engaging scripts and reviewing performance of digital material to further evolve the platform.

    9/10

  • 2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
  • Yes, I've always had an interest in media and social media so this apprenticeship has enabled me to become a professional in an industry that I love. I have received world-class training from experienced and talented journalists, camera operators and speakers. I have also gained an NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Level 3, which is an accredited course that news employers look for. I've been allowed to develop my ideas, change existing ones and work on other people's ideas as part of a team and individually.

    10/10

  • 3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
  • I've loved my apprenticeship. I feel very looked after, I had to do a lot of travelling and staying away from home to study and get training which was tiring and sometimes stressful but the support of my mentors and scheme leaders has been unquestionable. It's been the fastest 18 months of my life and I hope that I can continue to further my career in the BBC.

    10/10

  • 4. How valued do you feel by BBC?
  • I feel very valued. My worry when I started was that I would only be seen as 'just the apprentice', but I have been trusted and challenged to take on tasks and produce content which has been trusted to be broadcast to hundreds-of-thousands of people. My editor has supported me and given me great feedback on all my work, I have received plenty of praise and sometimes constructive criticism which has developed me further.

    10/10

  • 5. How well organised/structured is your programme?
  • The induction into the BBC was brilliant, fun and engaging. Placement on our local station has been brilliant too - if I was being honest what I did find difficult was spending up to three weeks away learning and then returning back to my station for two weeks and then leaving again - it was hard to properly fit in and work on tasks knowing that I would be leaving again shortly. Some parts had teething problems as we had to travel to a college in Wolverhampton from Birmingham, but it was soon organised that we would be put in a hotel in Wolverhampton instead.

    7/10

  • 6a. How much support do you receive from your training provider?
  • My on station trainer and mentor has been fantastic, helping me through my NCTJ and ensuring that I got the time to study and concentrate - whilst at the same time making sure that I practiced skills I was being taught by producing content for news.

    10/10

  • 6b. How much support do you receive from your employer?
  • This answer is very much similar to 6a - what I would add is that the BBC has ensured that our academy training has been well resourced and supported.

    10/10

  • 7. How well does your salary/package meet your costs?
  • I'm more than grateful to receive £12,000 to train, but at times it was quite difficult to get by especially when living away from home as we had to buy our meals and then claim the money back, which sometimes took two weeks. Fuel costs and parking in a city centre at my station have sometimes been difficult but I've been lucky that my family has been able to support me.

    6/10

  • 8. Are there many opportunities outside of work?
  • Yes, the BBC has allowed me to get involved with external opportunities which have include filming and editing to support a national apprenticeship event and also hosting it.

    10/10

  • 9. Would you recommend BBC to a friend?
  • Yes


  • 9b. Why?
  • I think a better question is why not! I tell people that if you're passionate about it, you will be recognised and given the chance. I've not been shy to share my amazing experience throughout my apprenticeship on social media and I've also visited to school to inspire other students and young people that opportunities are out there if you look hard enough. I spent five years trying to break into this industry,


  • 10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to BBC?
  • Make sure that your application makes you stand out - have in your mind that thousands of other people will be applying for the role so what can you do to make yourself appeal to the interview panel, go and do some volunteering, do you have an unusual hobby to talk about and make sure you read the job description and write your skills that work into what they're after. In your application, give examples of how you would be good at the role, being passionate about social media and news will help you. Use keywords like, creative, enthusiastic, team work, ideas and develop. One thing I've learnt is not to be shy, be friendly and brave, introduce yourself to people people and appear confident (even if you're really scared secretly). Ring up the editor where you job will be based and ask what they're looking for. If you get an interview, make sure you give answers what you think they'll be wanting to hear but also throw in something different and unusual, use your iPhone or smartphone to show off your work and present examples.


Details

Level 3 Apprenticeship

Yorkshire & The Humber

February 2018


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