Katie Bryson, Broadcast Operator Apprentice tells us about her first few months on the Scheme

Hi I’m Katie, I’m 20 years old and I’m the Broadcast Operator Apprentice based in Media City, Salford and I started in September 2019.

I’ve wanted to work behind the scenes for the BBC for as long as I can remember. I applied for the BBC summer work experience programme when I was still at school and was accepted to work with the Proms team in London. Through that I was offered lots of running jobs for live music events, like the Festival of Remembrance, The Queens’s birthday and I even got to work at the Royal Wedding but my highlight was most definitely working at Glastonbury. So, my first piece of advice to you is to use those school holidays or free time to get relevant experience; be prepared to work really hard and don’t be precious about starting off at the bottom. I learned so much about working in a team on running jobs and I met so many fantastic people.

Then I heard about the Apprenticeship scheme through BBC Get In. I wasn’t successful with my first application and so went to university instead but I didn’t enjoy sitting in lectures all day; I prefer to learn on the job and the apprenticeship means you get to study for qualifications at the same time. I made the big decision to leave uni and reapply to the scheme and second time around I got in! Therefore, my next piece of advice would be – persist! If you really want it, find a way to make it happen and don’t be put off easily. I wrote to several industry professionals I had met whilst doing running jobs and asked if I could work shadow them. I also did serious research and wrote a lot of emails to people I had never met. They were incredibly helpful and happy to give me advice. I got to spend time with The One Show engineering team, the Pop Hub operations in New Broadcasting House and I did two weeks work experience at BBC Radio Cumbria. During a tour of Quay house in Media City during a BBC Stem event, I met one of the Directors of North West Tonight and plucked up the courage to ask if I could shadow her one day. Next piece of advice - be polite, do your research and ALWAYS follow up with a thank you email.

Don’t be daunted by the application procedure; just take it stage by stage and the BBC Academy website is extremely helpful. Read the job description carefully and think about any transferable skills you have. And if you don’t have some, go out and get them! Volunteer with your community or hospital radio or, maybe your local theatre company needs help with lighting or sound. I volunteered with the National Youth Music Theatre one summer and I joined the technical crew for school productions. I knew that just saying I was passionate about the BBC and working in television was not enough – anyone could say that – you have to be able to show it.

My first few weeks on the scheme were spent with the seven other apprentices from all over the UK. We had an introduction week in Birmingham and then it was off to Wood Norton, the BBC training centre, for two weeks before starting our placements. I’ve just completed my first month at BBC Salford and here’s what I’ve been up to ….

I spent my first week with the Newswire team learning the various methods used to ingest. I was introduced to the Jupiter system (the newsroom operations) and shadowed the floor manager and camera operator on our regional news programme. I was very chuffed when I saw the footage from the SD card I had ingested on ‘North West Tonight’, on my first day. Week two saw me travelling to Bishop Auckland to work on my first Outside Broadcast with BBC Breakfast for the election coverage. I helped rig the sound and lighting equipment and cable bashed for the programme’s live broadcast. The week ended with another OB; this time it was off to Port Sunlight, near Liverpool with BBC Children in Need. I assisted the camera and lighting teams with rigging and I cable bashed again for the live programme. Week three was another busy and exciting week. My alarm was set for 4am for the 5am start for BBC Breakfast! My role this time was on the studio floor assisting with the sound and mic-ing up the guests. I also got to help the ‘BBC Music Introducing’ team set up for a recording. The week ended with me travelling to Norwich for another BBC Breakfast election OB where I helped set up the equipment, including the four wired microphones on the famous red sofa. I also mic-ed up the guests during the live programme - this had to be done during the VTs so there were some extremely quick turn arounds! Fantastic experience for an apprentice learning to work calmly in a pressurised situation! This week I was back with the BBC Breakfast team working as the sound floor assistant again and this time I was able to work a little more independently. I also had my first training on the studio cameras and with the gallery sound team.

Next up for me - another BBC Breakfast election OB in Crewe assisting with the sound and then I’m back with the Newswire team again.

My first month has been brilliant and has exceeded my expectations. Everyone has been very welcoming and has taken time to explain the job to me. They’ve made me feel part of the team already and I have learned so much. My final piece of advice therefore has to be - grab this opportunity: apply for the BBC Apprenticeship scheme and put everything you’ve got into it!