Surviving an Apprenticeship

Surviving an Apprenticeship

As I've said many times before, getting an Apprenticeship takes bloody guts. You're abandoning everything you know for something completely different. Leaving the comfort of family, friends and teachers and marching into that workplace to earn a bloody living, learning things aside from frigging Pythagoras and other useless crap - you're going to learn about life, about the adult world, things that are actually useful.

Taxes

Taxes might be one of the first hurdles you need to overcome. As stupid as that sounds, there's this thing called Emergency Tax (otherwise known as the bullshit the Government pulls to get some money out of you ASAP, pathetic wage or not!) that you'll need to get sorted as soon as you can. Most of the time it's temporary, but always speak to human resources or ring the tax office to raise some concerns about it if it happens again after your second pay. You can't get taxed until you have earned a taxable income of £10,000 - most Apprentices won't earn that in a year.

Of course if you've had a previous occupation and have earned money before, you will have to start paying extortionate taxes sooner unfortunately.

My first three wages at my company got messed up - in all honesty, because you're young, people will try and take the piss out of you, and they may not be willing to help you because, well, some people are arseholes. Just keep on them and make sure you're getting paid what you're contracted - don't let them try and pull the wool over your eyes just because you haven't seen a tax code before.

College Work

If like me, you don't have to go into college to do coursework, ask for some time to do it at work. There's nothing worse than trying to do college work, answer emails, take phone calls and whatever else you're trying to do! As an Apprentice are entitled for some time to do college stuff. Like one of my colleagues said - what're the next company going to be interested in, your qualifications or how many emails you did in your previous job?

Also, genius tip, look up the exam marking sheet online - e.g. OCR Level 3 Spreadsheet Software. Coursework questions for Apprentices can be incredibly vague, so this little tip has helped me out loads. I know exactly what I need to include to pass, and don't waste my time writing about information I don't need to.

Breaks

If you're under the age of 18, then you're entitled by law to have a half an hour break after every four hours of work. Doing otherwise is illegal! Ensure you read your contract thoroughly so you know how many breaks you're entitled to a day, and make sure you get all of this time or else you'll be working more than you should and won't be getting paid any extra for it!

Socialising

As hard as it is for some individuals to talk to new people (shout out to my other anxiety sufferers) the worst thing you can do is cut yourself off from everyone else. Talk to others, make friends, don't sit at your desk during lunch.

When I first started my job I was doing something completely different to what I do now. I found myself in a tough, miserable position of feeling victimised by my then trainer who could be very... unkind at times - I ended up crying on the way to the bus stop and at home, welling up at my desk, feeling lonely and isolated from others by feeling I couldn't communicate with anyone. One of my close friends at the place helped me get out of that situation, and I'm much happier now.

You need people to watch your back, but remember, people at work are still bitchy. This aspect surprised me. If you thought school or college was bad, you have no idea what world you're stepping into when you start work. Find the good people and stick with them. I don't have loads of friends at work, but the ones I have I trust and adore with all of my heart!

Be Eager

I made the mistake of being not-so-eager when I first started my apprenticeship. When I was doing or training to do challenging tasks, I put my defeated cap on, let my lack of self-confidence rule me, and pathetically whined "I can't do it."

It isn't school. A teacher won't sit by you and patiently work through it with you. You're getting paid to do a job, and if you aren't doing it, what are your chances of being kept on?

Just try! You're an apprentice, you're allowed to make mistakes! And even if you do make a few errors, at least you'll have the respect from others for trying! Companies bloody love eager beavers!



Chill Time

Take advantage of your breaks and dinner. Go for a brisk walk, get some fresh air, make yourself a good old cuppa. After hours of work, you need some time to chill and cool off - and nothing says chill like the good old British weather.

This is a bit hypocritical of me. I don't get out as often as I should, but I enjoy a walk to the town centre every so often, as well as a good sit down and natter with my work bestie while she has a sweet smelling vape. You'll drive yourself crazy sitting in the office for eight hours!

Work isn't so bad at all really. It can be a laugh, you're earning money you'll only have to pay National Insurance on, you'll be able to afford so much more, and it's giving you experience about what to expect from your future working life. And remember, most Apprenticeship contracts only last a year, so from that small snippet of working life you'll know what works for you - am I suited to working in an office? Do I enjoy working in customer services etc.