From no plans for the future to working on Sunday Politics: the story of a BBC Scotland apprentice

The first thing I did when I found out I got a position as an apprentice for the BBC was cry and call my dad. Then my friends came over, and we opened a bottle of champagne I got for my 18th birthday which I was saving for a special occasion, and we ate chocolate cake and I cried some more.

Before I applied to the BBC, I felt frustration at the stalemate I found my life at. I had survived university for the entirety of four months, left, was now working in a job I despised, and had no clue what to do next. I told myself that if I couldn’t find something within a year, I was to return to university. An idea that, frankly, nauseated me.

That was, at least, until I remember something I was told during my week’s work experience placement at BBC Scotland two years before: ‘We do apprenticeships, you know. You could apply for one.’

When I began to look into it, I was so compelled by what I read. I had the opportunity to travel, to be educated, and to be thrown in the deep end in the best possible way.

The application process was begun, for me, somewhat hesitantly, as I truly believed I wouldn’t get in. Until I got through to the next stage, and the one after that, all the way up until that fateful day when I got a phone call offering me the position.

Now, one year on, my amazement hasn’t subsided. The BBC does not hold back on opportunities to expand your training and learn something new. Within my first two months of being part of the team, I completed training in Birmingham, Salford, and Evesham and began college studies in Newcastle.

Most recently, I was the sound operator for the 2018 SNP annual conference, particularly for the First Minister’s speech. I’ve also had the chance to vision engineer programs like Reporting Scotland and Sunday Politics, which has allowed me to conclude that this is a job that I want to do at the end of it all.

At college, meanwhile, I’ve gained technical qualifications and am currently studying towards one in coding. These are things I never once thought I would have the capability of doing, but the BBC gives you that chance.

There are challenges, and everyone faces different ones, whether it be the balance of college and work, or hesitation with travelling a lot. Mine, however, was the worry that my 12 fellow apprentices and I would fail to get along, especially considering how much time we spend together, but I’m continually proven wrong in that regard. Every single one of them is talented, caring and extraordinary in their own particular way. Not only are they my co-workers, but they are my friends.

Now that applications are due to open up for the next intake of apprentices and trainees, I would like to implore any of those reading this to take the plunge and send your application in.

The BBC doesn’t need nor necessarily want people with A* qualifications and an endless CV. They want exceptional and authentic people who can rise to a challenge, grab an opportunity and, very importantly, have fun doing so.

I now use as much of my knowledge as I can to reach out to potential recruits through a blog I write.

The BBC helped me change from a 19-year-old who had left university with no plan for the future, to someone with, in my not entirely modest opinion, a great career ahead of them.

That could be you.

Applications for 2019's Broadcast and Communications Operator Apprenticeship open this September.