Hey! I’m Catherine, and I started my journey working in the design industry in the Summer of 2020 as a design apprentice at Teapot Creative. I believed an apprenticeship was the perfect way to gain a strong workplace knowledge and client based experience to begin my career as a graphic designer.
My day to day job role alongside my training includes a wide range of print work, however, I was also able to immerse myself into the vast creative world of digital design where I can create eye-catching social media graphics to digital invitations. My apprenticeship experience has been varied and nonstop. Now that I am a full time employee at teapot I wanted to write a little about my experience and hopefully inspire others to explore the potential the apprenticeships can offer!
After studying graphic design at college, I knew that it was exactly what I wanted to do as a career. I chose an apprenticeship instead of progressing to university as I think learning by experiencing real life scenarios is a lot more beneficial than being in a classroom. It also gives you a greater chance of landing a job in the industry if you get on really well.
It was brilliant to be able to dive straight into creativity and have the opportunity to get involved in projects straight away. The freedom the Teapot offered me as an individual was definitely valuable to widening my knowledge and skills in my sector.
The qualification involved a wide variety of topics within the creative industry. I covered Design, SEO, Web, Photography and Videography as well as studying legalities such as copyright laws which is of course incredibly important within my job role. The course was all remote, which was very useful to me. I enjoyed working independently on my assignments and appreciated the flexibility of the apprenticeship scheme.
Working in an agency as the first step in my design career was great as it meant that I had the opportunity to work with a broad range of clientele with a hugely varied selection of projects. Each and every day is different from the last so you are always on your toes and thinking of new ways to work and try new techniques. It also provides you with a wider scope of skills to learn and master due to the diversity.
It has allowed me to have an extensive understanding of the processes and ways in which Teapot operates. This has also resulted in me being more efficient and proactive in my job role now that I have completed my apprenticeship and have moved into a full time employee role and mindset.
I think the 3 key pieces of advice I would give to someone looking to start an apprenticeship would be to always ask questions, be keen and open to learning new skills, and consider mistakes as lessons.