BBC Apprenticeship Induction: My first week

At our induction we were given a fright when we were told "you don’t work for the BBC... you are the BBC". Ordinary people like us make up the BBC. In some ways, we’re simply public servants who work for the benefit of the diverse audience the BBC caters for.

Diversity was not lacking in our group of around 70 new apprentices, which ranged from former military and ex-footballers to bloggers, school leavers and baristas. Already, we had become a diverse but dynamic group which proves that whatever your background or history, there’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ BBC candidate.

As opposed to standard inductions when you have to sit through hours of DVDs, we were engaged through tasks, thought-provoking sessions and lively debates. Networking was encouraged right from the outset. It is deemed essential as we’re all likely to work with one another in the future. One BBC and one purpose is the underpinning motivation as we learnt what John Reith, founder of the BBC said: "A successful organisation has values".

We discussed which BBC value was most important (realising they all intertwined in some way or another) and had an afternoon learning about editorial values. Far from being boring, editorial values brought up some fascinating dilemmas such as whether it’s right to sacrifice fact and accuracy for the purpose of entertainment, and the difference between product placement and product prominence.

Throughout the week, we were given informal but focused training, information and attention. Apart from the BBC side of it, we also discovered there’s such a thing as a fear of belly-buttons! Yes, we were given a well-rounded induction where any preconceived thoughts of the BBC being a corporate kind of organisation were disproved. We were able to ask direct questions about anything on our minds and were given thorough answers.

We recorded our own radio horror drama using scripts, sound effects and props, and learnt about the future of broadcasting and cloud-based systems. We were also treated to an uncanny impression of Alan Hansen by one of the radio actors.

We had a session learning about what traits make a person successful and were given personalized reports about our main strengths and weaknesses, which were surprisingly accurate and helpful.

A creative thinking session taught us to come up with different ideas and how to think differently to produce original stories.

We were encouraged to make the most of this opportunity having overcome 131 other candidates per role in what is clearly a competitive industry. The ability to forge our own careers and shape our own futures at the BBC was reiterated.

For me, it was at least my third attempt to get a role at the BBC. Many of us still don’t believe we actually made it or how we did it. Some still think they’re in a dream soon to wake up disappointed!

All it shows is that the opportunities are out there for literally everyone. All you need is the belief, drive, passion and resilience. The rest can be taught later, just as we’re about to find out as we begin our journey at the BBC.