Teddy’s apprenticeship with London Borough of Bexley launches career in marketing and communications

After completing a degree in Business Management, Edward (Teddy) Cambridge from Dartford made the decision to turn the academic knowledge picked up at university into practical skills via an apprenticeship programme.

An opportunity arose when London Borough of Bexley advertised for an Apprentice Communications Assistant role at the Civic Offices in Bexleyheath and Teddy was quick off the mark to apply.

“I definitely made the right decision,” says Teddy, “I knew that graduating from university wouldn’t lead me direct into the job of my dreams; I would need to get myself some work skills and experience first. This job has been ideal for me and in just over a year, I feel that I have broadened my horizons and increased my employment prospects enormously.”

Working for the local authority’s Head of Communications and in a team of seven people, Teddy has been responsible for social media scheduling, content creation, writing and editing articles, shooting short videos and photographs and posting email newsletters.

It was his younger sister that inspired him to look at the apprenticeship route after her own successful training led her to a full-time position in the field of adult social care. At the age of just 23, and a successful graduate buzzing with enthusiasm and initiative, he knew he could benefit from all an apprenticeship can offer.

Teddy continues: “Every day brings a different challenge and my work has been very varied. I help to promote council-run or sponsored events such as literary festivals, economic and community-based initiatives, sports and fitness activities and much more.

“I attend a monthly workshop at London South East Colleges and I take time each week to study for a Level 3 in Social Media for Business. My tutor, Faith has guided me well and introduced me to lots of new and innovative techniques to help create effective content tailored to different audiences.

“My apprenticeship finishes in just four months’ time and I will miss working here. It has been such a great journey and above all, it has filled me with confidence; something I needed after leaving university. From here, I will apply for jobs in a similar field and continue my learning and discovery wherever I go. One day, I’d like to be the Head of Marketing for a large firm providing high quality products and services.

“I know that I will always look back at the experience provided to me by London Borough of Bexley and London South East Colleges. I would recommend an apprenticeship to anybody in the early stages of their career and those just starting out.”

Head of Communications at London Borough of Bexley, John Ferry is very impressed with Teddy and his work since he arrived. He said: “Thanks to his fantastic attitude and hard work, Teddy has made himself a key member of our team. Having him here has helped us expand and improve our use of social media and email, as well as making it possible to make our own short videos.

“But that’s only part of the story, Teddy has been happy and willing to get involved and help whenever he’s needed, picking up knowledge and skills wherever he can. It has been wonderful to watch him learn, develop his skills and grow in confidence to the point where we know he can move onwards and upwards.

“He is very popular with people across the Council and a fantastic advertisement for apprenticeships and the College. We are more than confident he has a successful career in marketing and communications ahead of him.”

If you think you have what it takes to a successful career in the marketing and communications professions, we’d like to hear from you. We have a great range of courses and apprenticeship opportunities to get you started. Come along to one of our open events.

If you are an employer and would like to find out more about taking on an apprentice, please click here.