Samantha Woods has recently completed a four-year degree apprenticeship at E.ON in Business Management and Leadership and has now secured a full-time role with the company as a Business Improvement Analyst.  

Why did you decide to do an apprenticeship with E.ON?  

When I learned about the degree apprenticeship as an alternative to traditional higher education, I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do and E.ON’s unique programme of rotational placements really stood out for me! I applied to university as well, but it wasn't something that I was excited about like everyone else at my sixth form college, so I just knew it wasn't the route I wanted to go down. Whereas the degree apprenticeship approach provided me with the ideal balance of working, learning, and earning. 

Describe your experience 

I was lucky enough to start my degree apprenticeship with E.ON on the Future Leader’s Business Management programme in 2019. Within this role I was given the opportunity to move departments every 6 months to a new area of the business. This has not only allowed me to gain experience in different areas such as HR, Strategy, Highways Lighting and Sales just to name a few, but as well as this, it has helped me to identify for myself which areas I am really passionate about and be able to effectively apply my university learnings to my current role. It sounds cliché, but no day was the same, which makes it an extremely exciting scheme and something I would completely recommend to anyone.  

How has your apprenticeship helped you progress in your career? 

Coming straight from school, where I did not know what I wanted to do long term, to having an experience in multiple different business areas, some of which I didn’t even know existed in a big company like E.ON, has enabled me to not only realise the area I want to specialise in but also allowed me to continue my personal development and build my professional network throughout."