Leeds City College

At just 18 years old, Niamh Wade is already making a significant contribution to the Events and Projects Team here at Luminate Education Group.

After completing her Level 3 in Journalism at Leeds City College’s Quarry Hill campus, Niamh wanted a pathway that would allow her to continue learning while gaining meaningful workplace experience. A Level 3 Business Administration Apprenticeship offered the ideal balance – combining structured study with real responsibility from day one.

In her role, Niamh supports the planning and delivery of events, awareness days and learner trips, while also contributing to Teaching, Learning and Assessment (TLA) and quality processes within the department. She helps ensure projects are delivered to a high standard and within set timeframes, demonstrating impressive attention to detail and organisation at an early stage in her career. Drawing on her journalism background, she also supports the marketing and promotion of events to staff, students and parents, confidently communicating across a range of platforms.

Her manager, Alisha Brown, has seen remarkable growth in a short space of time:

“Niamh is a fantastic member of the Events and Projects Team. Niamh joined us in August after completing her Level 3 in Journalism at Quarry Hill and has grown tremendously over the last 6 months. Her attention to detail, time management, and communication skills are excellent.

She is continually supporting the department TLA and Quality Process, ensuring the team is maintaining a high quality of work and within the set timeframes. As well as this, Niamh utilises the skills from her Journalism course to support the marketing of our events to staff, students, and parents. Her ability to communicate across a range of platforms and media is very impressive, and I am looking forward to seeing how she grows and develops further in her role.”

Since starting her apprenticeship, Niamh’s confidence has grown significantly. She has built strong working relationships across teams and campuses and feels comfortable asking questions, contributing ideas and communicating professionally with colleagues. The combination of theoretical learning and hands-on experience has allowed her to quickly develop practical skills in organisation, communication and problem-solving.

Niamh credits the supportive environment at Luminate as a key factor in her progress. With encouragement from her manager and apprenticeship tutor, she has taken on new responsibilities and embraced opportunities to work across different areas of the organisation.

For Niamh, the apprenticeship is more than a qualification – it is a foundation for her future career.

“My apprenticeship has allowed me to develop a range of transferable skills. It’s an absolutely amazing opportunity to grow, learn and develop in an inclusive environment – I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Her advice to others considering an apprenticeship is simple: “Go for it. I have grown and learnt so much by taking on this opportunity.”