My time at College really shifted how I worked not only as an individual but also as part of a group. The teachers were so supportive of my future plans and the Careers team prepared me well for the level of competition that I would face when applying to apprenticeships. When I was faced with two very different offers and a Russell Group university offer right in the middle of my A Level exam period, they really helped me with my career decision-making.

While at College, I made good use of my free time to work as a swim instructor, and this strengthened my CV when I started applying to apprenticeships: it was real work experience and a demonstration of a strong work ethic alongside my predicted grades.

I’m currently a Commercial Degree Apprentice at L’Oréal working in Cosmetics and Gifting within the Grocery sector of retail. Alongside my full-time work, I’m also studying towards a Chartered Management degree at the University of West London.

I work in a matrix structure, which means I work with many different brands and teams both internally at L’Oréal and externally. Something I really enjoy is that I get to work in Marketing (working on promotions and new products), Supply Chain (meeting with external suppliers as well as the retailer directly) and Finance (focusing on our own sales analysis as well as competitor sales). There have also been some real technical challenges from going into the corporate environment so young, such as learning to use new market data analytics platforms, like Nielsen IQ, as well as starting to make presentations to my wider team.

I am glad I went to the Careers Department early as they were able to assist with my applications and any questions I had. Do start using LinkedIn when you’re in College and keep it updated with what you’re doing in your job, any work experience and the new skills you learn. You can also use the platform to reach out to people who are in similar roles to those you aspire to. And in terms of apprenticeship applications, I’d say it’s best to create a tracker to log where you are with each application – don’t shy away from sending a follow-up email if you haven’t heard back.

Connie Tomkins
Reigate College: 2023-2025
Higher Education: Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship at University of West London while working as a Commercial Degree Apprentice at L’Oreal