Making a career move into a new field can be daunting, especially when you’re short on formal experience. For Niamh, a NHS Resolution apprentice, the decision to pursue a Public Relations and Communications Apprenticeship was the perfect stepping stone into a new profession. With support from Oxford Professional Education, she not only built confidence and expertise in communications, but also earned a Distinction, all while taking on a new internal comms role and expanding her responsibilities.
In this blog, she shares her experience: from her background in business admin to her day-to-day comms work and the impact the apprenticeship has had on her professional growth.
What was your background before starting your apprenticeship?
I started my Public Relations and Communications apprenticeship whilst in my second role at NHS Resolution, originally joining the education team before moving into our communications team. I was in the role for a year before commencing my apprenticeship. Before this, I worked for an accounting firm for a year and a half, completing a Level 3 Business Administration apprenticeship during this time.
Why did you decide to sign up to the apprenticeship?
I joined the communications team with little experience in the field and wanted to expand my education further within this space. Although I had already picked up different elements of comms and was doing well in my role, I wanted to have the opportunity to learn more about Public Relations and Communications and apply what I was learning in my day-to-day role. I wanted the opportunity to build solid foundations for a successful career in Communications.
How did you find the apprenticeship?
I have now completed my end point assessment and am delighted to have recently received my final Distinction grade. It has been a very enriching experience and has encouraged me to undertake different pieces of work and collaborate with colleagues across the team. I started a secondment to Internal Communications when I was a year into the apprenticeship, which has enabled me to apply my learning in a different area. It did pose a challenge around choosing a project as I found it difficult to find an idea within internal communications that would meet all the requirements, but I received enough support to help me through this and decide on an appropriate project.
How did the apprenticeship support your daily work?
All topics covered, although not all relevant to the way my current organisation operates, have provided useful insight into the PR and Communications space as a whole. This has enabled me to have a different perspective on my work and generate new ideas that I may previously have struggled to. I now have a better understanding of why we do things in certain ways and make suggestions for improvements.
Tell us about the company and what your job role involves?
My company is arm’s length body of the Department of Health and Social Care, providing indemnity and expertise to the NHS on resolving concerns and disputes fairly, sharing learning for improvement and preserving resources for patient care. My job role when I started the Public Relations and Communications Apprenticeship was a Communications and Engagement Coordinator, whereby I supported the claims directorate with Comms work and liaised with external stakeholders, such as our members, often. This role included coordinating and executing events, drafting and circulating mailings, creating, formatting and branding reports and more. As mentioned before, a year into the apprenticeship (August 2024), I started a secondment as an Internal Communications Executive which involves updating our company intranet, including creating posts, creating the weekly staff newsletter and drafting content for and coordinating monthly hybrid staff briefings.
How did Oxford Professional Education support you in your apprenticeship?
My tutor has always been extremely supportive and I am in a unique position where I am the only person in the cohort, so my learning has always been very much 1 to 1. She has so much experience and knowledge around the topic and always gives excellent examples to bring the content to life. She thoroughly marks my work and provides honest feedback which I have always appreciated. Other colleagues at OxPEG have frequently checked up on me and are always checking if I have everything I need, and very friendly and helpful when we meet for our quarterly reviews.
Would you recommend this apprenticeship to others?
I would recommend this apprenticeship as it has significantly widened my PR and communications experience and encouraged me to get involved with tasks and colleagues that I may not have had the chance to otherwise. I’m now more confident in my abilities and feel I can positively contribute to the team more which will help me further my career in future.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting an apprenticeship?
It is a lot of work, but it’s worth it. Especially when work gets busy, it can create more pressure but with the correct support, this will be manageable and will teach you that you are capable of more than you might have thought. It’s made me better at working on multiple projects at once, balancing my time and prioritising my tasks which will benefit me all throughout my career.
Oxford Professional Education offer a range of marketing, project management, and procurement apprenticeships. If you are interested in completing an apprenticeship or would like to hire an apprentice for your company, get in touch with our team to find out more.