Leeds City College

History graduate, Verity Eaden, wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after university until she discovered she had a passion for organising events after getting the opportunity to work at festivals.

Having been part of the student radio station at the University of Leeds, Verity said her radio and festival experiences showed her that she wanted to pursue a career in event management, but she had no experience managing or planning events.

“I chose to do an apprenticeship because I needed to develop my practical and organisational skills. The events assistant apprenticeship at Leeds City College seemed like the perfect way to gain that experience, whilst also developing my other skills.”

“The apprenticeship so far has provided invaluable experience. I feel extremely lucky to have still had the opportunity to plan online events throughout the pandemic and have gained the skills that go alongside this.

“My manager and team have been unbelievably supportive and my confidence has improved immensely because of this. There has been a lot of freedom in the role and I definitely feel like I’ve been given the chance to put forward ideas and run with them.”

Alongside her daily work tasks, Verity has gotten the opportunity to pursue other interests through online training and work shadowing.

“This has expanded my knowledge outside of my team and shown me how other parts of the college work. I have also developed my personal and technical skills.

“There have been plenty of opportunities for training, whether that’s been internal training on EDI and safeguarding or the online courses and schemes that have been suggested to me based on my interests.

“The apprenticeship has been a very insightful and inspiring experience that has definitely helped me develop as a person as a result.”