“I bring new skills to the table” – the value of doing an apprenticeship through your employer

More and more adults are advancing their skills through continuous professional development (CPD). But did you know that a degree apprenticeship is also a form of CPD?

For National Apprenticeship Week, we spoke to Rob McHugh, a Senior Support Officer at Leeds City Council, about how doing an in-house apprenticeship enabled him to bring new skills to the table.

Higher apprenticeships at Level 4 are equivalent to the first year of an undergraduate degree

Tell us about your degree apprenticeship

I’ve just completed a Level 4 apprenticeship in project management, which is an interesting industry to work in because no two projects are ever the same. I have a full-time role at Leeds City Council and dedicated one day a week to the apprenticeship.

A typical training day would start with a three-hour morning lecture (with colleagues) on an aspect of project management. I would then spend the afternoon completing ‘homework’, evidencing how I’ve used the knowledge acquired over my degree apprenticeship in my work setting. To be honest, I don’t think I quite realised how flexible the learning could be.