A little about Ryan’s apprenticeship…
Apprenticeship Title
Level 4 Sales Executive
Job title and employer
Customer Success Executive at RELX
What are 3 skills you’ve learned so far?
Confidence, adaptability and collaboration
What are 3 interests outside of work?
Travelling, collecting, and plays
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What inspired you to choose an apprenticeship as your next step?
Originally during school I knew that university wasn't really going to be for me, I wasn't the most proactive to studying and knowing the debt that I was going to rack up also made me flinch at the thought. I managed to snatch up an opportunity to first experience apprenticeships with Visionpath back in early 2024. I was in the final stages of a different apprenticeship programme, but fell short at the final interview.
I learned a lot during the process of the assessment centres and the interview. I learned that I need to build skills that will help me within these final interviews. I took a gap year to kind of relax and look for the next steps after this, I took on a role in a restaurant to work any hours I could. Whilst working I was building skills that I hadn't even been aware of, like resilience and communication. These are all skills which helped me to develop myself. Getting that exposure originally from Visionpath is what lead me to try again for an apprenticeship, as I knew it was for me and that eventually it would work out.
"I managed to keep in contact with Visionpath through their talent pool which allowed me to hear about my current opportunity, and the rest is history."
What kinds of things do you get up to in your role? Any tasks you especially enjoy?
I do quite a few tasks at work but there are a couple that I really enjoy. Being quite introverted in a customer facing role has lead me to really enjoy speaking to different people. Being able to see what people do in their day to day jobs and the industries they work in can be really interesting. Something that helped me to enjoy this task was my first role at the restaurant, the environment there wasn't the nicest so it taught me patience and resilience when it came to talking with people. The customers I faced in my role were always really nice and energetic which made me enjoy the tasks. Another task I enjoy is learning new systems. At work we do a good amount of admin, but this is split across different systems, and having to learn a system like Salesforce is quite interesting because of all its functions and different ways it can be personal to a business.
What’s been the standout highlight of your apprenticeship so far?
I think my biggest highlight of my apprenticeship is being able to see all the learning I did within the first couple months pay off when doing tasks within my role. My role consists of running sessions for customers, and that means knowing our products quite well and what they offer to the customer. For the first couple of months I spent my apprenticeship learning our products and presenting back to my manager on how I'm doing. When I was then signed off to run customer sessions, I could see that my knowledge of the product and the work I put in to learn them has paid off, as my session went smoothly when it came knowledge. I still had to work on my confidence as I made a mistake!
Have you come up against any challenges during your apprenticeship, and how did you navigate them?
I have come up against a few challenges within my apprenticeship, one of the main ones was kind of finding my voice and confidence. As I stated, I'm not the most extroverted person, so being able to find timings and confidence to speak to new people was a bit frightening at first. I started off by creating small talk with people to gain a starting point that then lead to being able to talk more freely with customers comfortably.
What’s helped you feel supported during your apprenticeship?
There are a lot of supporters during my apprenticeship. I'd like to first say that my manager is a huge helper when it comes to reassurance and ensuring that we are learning to become the best we can. Another big support is my team. Everyone's really nice when it comes to asking questions or even helping out, I'm glad that I can go to anyone and ask anything and they will try their best to help.
"A big supporter of mine is Visionpath as a whole, they've been supporting me even before the start of my apprenticeship and without them I don't think I would be here."
What moment made you realise you’d made the right decision choosing an apprenticeship?
My realisation moment was being able to see that I actually bring value to my team, and the role I work in is helping. For a little bit I couldn't see what I was bringing to the team and my role, until one of my customer sessions where I got some nice feedback and how the customer was pleased to hear what I had shared, and ensured that I had been of value to them on that day.
Connect with Ryan!
Here at Visionpath, our Ambassador Community is more than just a network, it’s a movement. Our ambassadors are current and former apprentices who are passionate about making a difference by sharing their real-life journeys to inspire the next generation.
Are you a current or former apprentice who wants to get involved in the movement? Email ambassadors@visionpath.co.uk to get started.
