I should start off by saying that everyone’s experience will be slightly different. Not everyone will feel the nerves I did or the pre-call stress, but if you did (or do) at least now you know that you aren’t alone.

Signing up to something new is scary, I know for me I was always told apprenticeships were for 16 year old school leavers and so enrolling onto my Level 4 Clear Quality course, I didn’t really know what to expect, and the unknown can make me a little anxious.

‘What if it isn’t what I expected?’

‘What if I don’t like my trainer?’

‘What if I don’t have a clue what’s going on?’

These questions ran through my mind at a mile a minute but that is ok, it’s normal. That overwhelming fear is nothing to be ashamed of. Hopefully, however, by telling you my experience, those questions in your mind will quieten. 

Enrolment Call

I signed up after falling in love with the content of my course (Data Protection and Information Governance Level 4) For someone who’s primary role is marketing, this course was a necessity.

So, I registered my interest, signed all my enrolment documents and got a Teams invite for my enrolment call, set to happen in the November of 2022.

That initial lead up to the call, I had all of those questions at the front of my mind. Clicking the link. Turning on my camera. Waiting in the Teams lobby. Who knew a short simple task could make me so nervous? Then, within half an hour of meeting my trainer and cohort, I relaxed.

The trainer went through what to expect, what they expected from us, and went through the Clear Quality Learning Platform with all of us before moving on to ice breaker activities so we got to get to know each other a little bit more. Knowing that there were other people in the exact same position as me, feeling the exact same emotions was more reassuring than you could probably imagine.

The Course

As you were probably told before enrolment, you have a 4-hour lecture to attend every month, along with 4 hours of eLearning and 4 hours of assignments scheduled on Clear Quality’s learning platform. This is exactly what I got, and I loved it.

Being able to complete my work around my day to day duties, on a schedule suitable to me was so freeing, and it made writing my assignments that much more enjoyable, and I knew, even though it was work I was completing alone, my tutor was just an email / Teams call away if I ever got stuck or confused.

Remember: Don’t struggle alone, your trainer is there to support you every step of the way.

Your Support System

As the course goes on, you will slowly start to build a relationship with your trainer, and if you need help, they will always be your first go-to contact. However, there is a whole friendly team at Clear Quality who are there to help if your trainer is for some reason unavailable or you would like to talk to someone else.

Finally, remember, the apprenticeship is for you, to help you and your career, and get you to where you want to be professionally and personally, so talk to us, take control, and be excited!