The idea of doing an apprenticeship had always appealed. “It made sense,” Sam says. “An apprenticeship is three years of work experience, three years of pay. And you’re getting the same qualification that you get if you went to university.”
Sam’s brother, Matt, was also completing a Data Analyst apprenticeship with NSAR. “He suggested that the company were looking for data apprentices and I give it a go… Maths was something that I was good at. When I was thinking about my career path, I thought I’d try to do something that I’m good at.”
The apprenticeship took three years, combining practical work experience with online learning. “Mine was a condensed course, so I did three years, but I did 46 weeks a year,” Sam explains. As with most apprenticeships, it was four days on-the-job training and one day of study a week.
Balancing work and study proved manageable, with NSAR prioritising Sam’s dedicated study day. “NSAR was very good at protecting my study day and allowing me to have that,” he says. “One of the real upsides to the apprenticeship was that I studied during working hours and I could still maintain my spare time.”
A typical workday for Sam involves data-centric tasks, often focused on workforce analysis. “Our clients send me data about who works for them. I take it, clean it and present it back to them, generating insights in terms of gender, age, diversity, all the important topics in the industry to do with workforce.
“It’s great being able to work with numbers and data and maths, which is what I think happens when you’re good at something, you naturally enjoy doing that thing.”
The benefits of the apprenticeship go beyond technical skills. “What I feel I’ve gained most from the apprenticeship is intangible skills. I always say to people that what I have enjoyed most is having responsibility placed on me and knowing that ultimately I’ve got to make sure that the work gets done.”
While acknowledging the potential trade-offs regarding the traditional university social experience, Sam emphasises the unique advantages of apprenticeships. “The opportunities from a work perspective that the apprenticeship has provided me are huge. Being thrown in to the workplace at the age of 18 develops you as a person. You learn so much about yourself and about life.”
“Rail is a great industry to work in,” Sam enthuses. “There’s so many opportunities. Stuff that you never realised was going on. I never realised there were that many options.”
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