Strawberry apprentices start promising careers

Posted on Tags: Strawberry Academy

Our two apprentices, Katherine Owen and Jade Woodfield, have successfully graduated from the ‘Strawberry Academy’ with full time jobs and a promising career. We recently appointed Katherine as Web Support Coordinator and Jade as a Graphic Designer. Both have become valued members of the team and we are on the lookout for our next talented apprentices.

Both Katherine and Jade studied for their apprenticeship at the Hull Business Training Centre and joined the Strawberry Academy in 2009. The academy is designed to source, train and develop local talent and also caters for school work experience students, university placement students and graduates.

The girls were both given a real job from day one and benefited from hands-on learning, as Jonathan Leafe, our Managing Director, explains:

“We are delighted to have successfully appointed our two latest Strawberry Academy graduates to full time positions. They know the company inside out and have show great dedication – not only in furthering their careers but doing a great job for us and our clients. They have made a real impression here and are an asset to Strawberry.

“We are always on the lookout for bright students. We really want to help people start careers in this industry and are keen to encourage talent to stay in the local area – not migrate to Manchester or Leeds. In fact, we are running a web workshop as part of the Strawberry Academy later this year to give web design students and graduates a taste of agency life.”

The National Apprenticeship scheme provides the ideal way for students to gain experience and qualifications, as Katherine explains:

“By studying for an advanced apprenticeship in IT, I’ve dramatically improved my knowledge, however, working every day in a busy agency has really given me the confidence I need to move forward in my career. I’m dealing with clients, working on real projects and boosting my skills whilst learning from people who have been working in the industry for years.”

Jade comments: “I’m really pleased to have been given a full time position at Strawberry. My colleagues have really helped me develop and I have enjoyed the mix of both education and work over the past year. I’m sure I’ll carry on learning throughout my career and would definitely recommend the apprentice route!”