This year we have had the pleasure of working with the Rainbow Rooms International group to deliver the Digital Marketing SVQ to two great young people, Robbie Lyons and Isla Cole (both 18). Under, Academy Director, Leigh Kerr and her team’s tutelage, and working alongside our assessor’s guidance and innovative e-learning platform and digital classroom suite, Isla and Robbie have thrived during their modern apprenticeship and recently completed their SVQ. Rainbow Rooms Academy is already one of the top training providers of apprenticeships in the hair & beauty industry in Scotland, and as this was their first foray into employing Digital Marketing Modern Apprenticeships, we were delighted to work alongside such an accomplished organisation to develop young people. We asked Robbie and Isla about their Apprenticeship experience and this is what they had to say:
What Made You Decide To Complete A
Modern Apprenticeship?
Isla: I had tried a college course and didn’t enjoy it at all. When I left, I came across the option to do a modern apprenticeship where I could earn money while I learn and complete the qualification at a comfortable speed and in my own time, I thought it would be a really good opportunity to try something different.
Robbie: Straight from leaving school, I went to college and I didn’t enjoy it as the classroom environment was too similar to school, whereas with this opportunity it was something that I was interested in doing that allowed me to further my education in a different setting. When I started my apprenticeship at Rainbow Room International the atmosphere was relaxed and I felt at ease. This was something different for me, but it was also something that I believed I would enjoy and feel comfortable doing.
How Did You Find The Recruitment Process with Sixth Sense Training?
Robbie: During the recruitment process with Sixth Sense Training, and going for the interview at Rainbow Room International I felt good and prepared, as Jamie, the person who recruited me for this position was making sure that I knew everything about the job role and was there to help if I needed it.
Isla: I was recruited and in the job within less than a month. The process was really quick and easy and there was a lot of communication.
Do you feel your apprenticeship has boosted your job skills and why?
Isla: I think that my apprenticeship has boosted my job skills as it has helped me be able to meet deadlines efficiently, it has made me aware of the career path I can now take and it has helped me learn various different practical and knowledge units and outcomes which I can utilise on a daily basis now that I have a qualification.
Robbie: This Apprenticeship has increased my digital marketing skills through the job we were in, and the learning materials and constant help from my assessor Peter. I now feel comfortable enough to design my own content and then post it on our company’s social media channels.
Do you feel your apprenticeship has helped with your self-confidence?
Robbie: My apprenticeship has improved my confidence not only in my digital marketing skills but in my communication with others. Being in the workplace with different people and being in contact with the very important people in the company has helped improve my communication skills. When first starting the job, I was quite shy and kept to myself whereas throughout this experience I have come out of my shell and I think this is partly because of the environment here and the job role I was taking on. Also knowing that if there was any help needed in my course then I could email the assessor for support and feedback was a comfort.
Isla: During my apprenticeship, I have become more confident in my job role, as the experience taught me how to work well and effectively with others and it also helped me learn a lot about myself in terms of my preferred learning style.
How Have You Been Supported By Sixth Sense During Your Apprenticeship?
Isla: I have been supported throughout the duration of my apprenticeship, it is really helpful to have a lot of people on hand to help me whenever I have a question or if I am stuck. Peter was also really helpful as he was always responsive and kept us in the loophole at all times.
Robbie: As I have spoken about previously, our assessor Peter always made us feel at ease during the apprenticeship, providing any help we may need along the way. Also, Richard visited for a support session in our office during a change of assessor to make sure we fully understood any parts of the apprenticeship we were struggling to complete and allowed us to progress at a quicker rate.
What Have You Enjoyed Most About Your Apprenticeship?
Isla: I have enjoyed learning and developing a great number of new skills and carrying them out when it came to practical tasks. I felt that for me this was the best way to learn.
Robbie: I have enjoyed everything about the apprenticeship, but if I had to choose some highlights, I would say it would be the workplace as well as the people. Rainbow Room International has really been such an amazing place to work, as well as learning from the digital marketing agency RRI work with (Dog Digital) in the creation of Social Media posts.
Overall, do you feel you have benefitted from your modern apprenticeship?
Robbie: I feel I have benefitted greatly from the modern apprenticeship and the work experience I have gained. I now feel confident enough to come up with my own social media plans, and get ready to execute them.
Isla: I feel that now I have finished my apprenticeship I can go away and take the new skills and transfer them to any future roles I progress into.
What do you hope is the next step on your career path?
Robbie: I hope to continue working at Rainbow Room International and hopefully one day become the lead of my own digital marketing team, where I can look at events and posts that I have attended/hosted/posted to be proud of them, and continually develop my digital marketing skills beyond what I have already learned as you can never learn enough!
Isla: I hope that I can continue working at Rainbow Room International as I have enjoyed what I have been doing for here so far, or I would definitely like to work within another digital marketing group and take my career from there.