BBC Local Apprentices: time for training

Two BBC Local Apprentices - Ngaio Anyia, from BBC Bristol and Kamran Ellahi from BBC Surrey and Sussex - take some time away from training to talk about what they've been up to so far.

When we heard we had been selected for this amazing opportunity and would be meeting all the other apprentices from across the UK and Channel Islands, we didn´t know what to expect or who we´d be meeting.

We did know we would be getting trained in radio and journalism and we guessed that, like us, the other apprentices would also be passionate about their local communities. However the idea of meeting 45 new people was quite daunting; we both felt an interesting mix of curiosity and excitement.

All 46 apprentices first met at BBC Birmingham for the induction week at the end of September. Here we were split into three groups, and this is when we first met.

We have had three blocks of training from the BBC Academy and Wolverhampton City College since then. These involved getting to grips with the NCTJ modules that form part of the apprenticeship, heading out to get stories from the general public and learning technical radio skills at BBC Wood Norton.

During the training we’ve been asked to produce and present mock radio shows recorded in the studio. At first, speaking in front of a group and approaching strangers was out of our comfort zone. Thankfully the more we did it, the easier it became. We both feel that this was the most important part of our training - we got to know each other as a group, and felt safe making suggestions as well as mistakes.

One of the most surreal moments for us was meeting director general Tony Hall and director of News and Current Affairs, James Harding. You don’t expect to meet the “big cheeses” when a lot of senior members of staff haven´t had the honour. It showed us how important the scheme is to the people who commissioned it.

The most challenging but possibly best day we had was when we were asked to tell a personal story in front of our group. This is where we learnt the most about each other, where vulnerabilities were highlighted and supported. I don´t think anyone expected the level of honesty and trust we gave each other, and it brought us closer together as a result.

The funniest thing we´ve found so far is how wrong our preconceptions are of what a “BBC person” is. From edgy jokes to the smart casual dress of almost every employee to how down to earth our tutors have been, we´ve felt like we were being trained by colleagues rather than teachers. Everyone´s up for laugh and knows how to have fun while learning.

We are now in the process of wrapping up the first part of our training and embarking on the next chapter with more knowledge and friends than we had before. We are just as excited and nervous as we were before the training but feel ready to put our new skills into practice.

Kam: “The highlight of this course for me was shadowing the Bobby Friction show on Asian Network. It felt epic to be in a studio with him and his producers seeing how it all works and learning as much as I could.”

Ngaio: “My highlight has been finally finding a job that appreciates all the different parts of my personality. Being able to be myself has been something I´ve never had in a job before and it has really helped improve my confidence both in myself and my skills.”

There’ll be more from the apprentices on the Academy website throughout the year. You can keep up-to-date with the latest via Twitter using #BBCLAS or via iPlayer Radio