I really enjoyed my time at College! It differed so much from school, and I was able to build my confidence and independence without being thrown in at the deep end: You’re trusted to manage your own time and take responsibility for what you’ll get out of your courses, but there’s always someone to go to if you need support. Unlike school, I loved that I could focus on three subjects that I was passionate about.
Business was a great subject for me to take – I still use my learning every day in my current role. Taking dance meant a lot of my free periods were spent rehearsing and planning for future assessments. Studying this subject helped to build my confidence presenting to others, and this was crucial in helping me to stand out during interviews later. Getting to work collaboratively with so many students was also great at building my communication skills, which is now a key part of my job as I’m communicating with different teams, labels and talent regularly.
Although I was unsure exactly what I wanted to do after College, I never felt pressure from staff to choose a specific direction. My tutor was extremely supportive, and when I was pretty sure I didn’t want to go to university, she ensured I had access to the people that I might need to speak to, to help me make that decision.
Sadly, I left College in 2020 when COVID hit, which meant leaving a few months earlier than planned, without sitting my exams and rather unsure about what my future held. But as a first step, I began working at a local nursery, completed a Level 3 Early Years Educator qualification and began to progress to more senior roles. For nearly three years I was confident that my future lay in childcare. However, I realised that I’d rather fallen into working in childcare, having worked at an after-school club while at College and then taken the nursery job after College. I decided that if I didn’t leave and try something else, perhaps I never would. So I took a risk, left the nursery and began looking for an alternative career.
I looked at a variety of apprenticeships, but knowing how much I’d enjoyed studying Business, it reminded me that a career in marketing could be a great fit. I soon realised that experience over precise qualifications was key in the industries I was looking to work in, and I thought an apprenticeship would be a perfect opportunity to try a new career and get hands-on experience. Once I started researching, I found apprenticeships in media, which really appealed: I applied and was extremely shocked but happy that from 2000 applicants, I was given the only Content Creator apprenticeship role at ITV Studios!
ITV Studios is different to the broadcaster ITV1 – it’s the production and distribution company for different shows, but we do work closely with ITV1. As part of the social team, I create content to promote the shows we produce and distribute. I recently completed my Content Creator apprenticeship with a Distinction, and I’ve been able to apply everything I learned to grow in my role.
When starting this apprenticeship, I had no experience in either media or marketing and was worried I might feel overwhelmed or that the risk I’d taken leaving my previous job was too big. However, I soon settled in and everyone, both in the office and on my course, were so supportive that it took away any worries I had about being new to the industry!
Day to day, my job consists of clipping standout moments from our shows, filming interviews with talent on set, and finding creative ways to bring ITV Studios’ content to life online. No two days are the same, which is what I really enjoy! I get lots of opportunities to work on many exciting projects in this role, and it’s not all office based – for example, travelling to Leeds to attend and film at Emmerdale’s 10,000th episode event. I got to work with the cast and crew to shoot a video that would celebrate this milestone, which was so exciting for me because I’d watched the show for so long! Recently, I also supported on one of our business-to-business events – ITV Studios Festivals – in which we showcase our content to buyers. Again, this was exciting as we planned and filmed social content with front-of-camera talent. It was a such a fun, full-on day.
Working for a large company like ITV Studios has been a great experience because there’s so many opportunities to explore different career paths, I don’t feel like I’m confined to one area of the business. I’ve had work experience across different departments, such as Loose Women for ITV Studios Daytime, and supported a variety of ITV Studios ‘labels’ – these are the different (often smaller) production companies who come under ITV Studios, and there are 60 within the company.
I’m really happy in my current role, and the variety has helped me gain a better understanding of ITV and marketing more generally, as well as giving me opportunities to network with a wide variety of people. Something I’m interested in doing in the future is being part of the digital teams who run the social media channels for show-specific accounts, such as This Morning or Love Island.
For College students just starting out, I’d say just enjoy your time there! Sometimes there’s so much pressure to know exactly what you want to do after leaving and have everything planned out, but that isn’t how it has to be! I’ve had two completely different careers since leaving College and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The experience you gain from being at College is far more important than worrying about whether you’ve picked the exact subjects to perfectly align with your future career. Many careers are much more flexible than that.
Sarah Miller
Reigate College: 2018-2020
Higher Education: Level 3 Early Years Educator while working at Cavendish Lodge Nursery then Level 3 Content Creator Apprenticeship with Amplify while working at ITV Studios
Currently: Social Media Content Creator, ITV Studios
