1. 2015/16 Marketing Campaign My Apprenticeship Story: Jodeci Joseph My Story I will be discussing my journey to becoming an apprentice and how I am where I am today.

2. 2015/16 Marketing Campaign My Apprenticeship Story: Jodeci Joseph Academic History I went to King Solomon high school. I wasn’t always the best behaved, however academically I thrived and was extremely motivated. I achieved very high GCSE grades, grading As and Bs across the board. Allowing me to proceed to sixth form.

3. 2015/16 Marketing Campaign My Apprenticeship Story: Jodeci Joseph This all changed… I continued to thrive during AS level. However during A2 I hit a wall and the intense stress lead me to suffer mental illness. Fortunately I had great support and recovered in time for the A2 exams. I still passed A levels well considering what I went through.

4. 2015/16 Marketing Campaign My Apprenticeship Story: Jodeci Joseph What happened next I realised I needed time out of education-so I decided to take a gap year. The problem was I did not have a clue what I was going to do for a year! I met a friend that evening who recommended doing an apprenticeship. I was intrigued and signed up to the Government Apprenticeship website where I could apply for lots of different vacancies.

5. 2015/16 Marketing Campaign My Apprenticeship Story: Jodeci Joseph How did I choose ? I searched for vacancies available in the local area in subjects I was interested in. One of the categories for teaching assistants caught my eye. I knew I loved working with kids so I applied online via the National Apprenticeship Website for a few job roles. I then received an email from Havering College stating that I had been invited in for an interview and assessment to see if I was suitable for the role.

6. 2015/16 Marketing Campaign My Apprenticeship Story: Jodeci Joseph Getting the apprenticeship After completing the assessments at the college, I was told I was successful and my details would be put forward to Crownfield School for an official interview with the school staff. I was extremely nervous before the interview as I had never had experience working in a school before so I did a lot of research and preparation. I realised that working with kids previously is experience in itself. I felt the interview went well and the staff were very friendly- I decided that this was where I wanted to spend the next year!

7. 2015/16 Marketing Campaign My Apprenticeship Story: Jodeci Joseph The Apprenticeship I have been working as an Apprentice Teaching Assistant for 6 months now- It’s an amazing experience!

8. 2015/16 Marketing Campaign My Apprenticeship Story: Jodeci Joseph How it works I study at Havering College for one day a week working towards my qualification. For the rest of the time, I work at Crownfield School in my role as a teaching assistant and I get visited by an assessor who observes me at work. I have great support both from my employer and also from Havering College so I always have someone to speak to if I have any questions.

9. 2015/16 Marketing Campaign My Apprenticeship Story: Jodeci Joseph Why an apprenticeship? It’s a great way to enhance your skills in a particular sector of work. As a student it is also very helpful that you get paid and you also get a qualification too! It’s a great way to earn while you learn. Most importantly it has helped me better myself as a person. Improving my communication skills, confidence and developing opportunities for the future.

10. 2015/16 Marketing Campaign My Apprenticeship Story: Jodeci Joseph My advice to you An apprenticeship is a great stepping stone to university. It’s a great way to get experience opening doors for the future. Its also a great way to earn some money and get a qualification at the same time. I really do believe that apprenticeships are the way forward. Thank you for listening!