My name is Jamilah Simpson, I’m 19 years old and I grew up in London and Dubai. My family and I travelled to Morocco for a few months, then straight to Dubai, where I was homeschooled throughout the three years that we lived there.

I’m currently doing a level 3 digital marketing apprenticeship with Google, which I started in October 2018 - so already coming up to 6 months! I’m in the entertainment team, where we work alongside clients in film, gaming and music. We help to sell and consult about our Google products in order to market their upcoming content releases. 

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Background: Tes launches #InspiringApprentices campaign

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During my last year of sixth-form, I realised that going on to university was not ideal for me, as I’ve always worked well in environments where I can apply my learning straightaway. The idea of sitting in hour-long lectures for the next three years didn’t appeal to me. Therefore, I explored other options to further education. When I discovered apprenticeships, I pursued work experience in digital marketing as I realised I wanted to work in an industry where I could continue using my creative skills.

Working on the 10-year plan

With WhiteHat as my apprenticeship provider, I expected the organisation to assist me with my training throughout my course. However, since I joined its growing cohort of apprentices, it has exceeded my expectations as it has supported me throughout each stage of my apprenticeship. To put it simply, WhiteHat has acted as my apprenticeship recruiter, coach, qualification provider and career-starter.

My careers advice throughout sixth-form was (luckily) not purely focused on university. By this, I mean that I was able to seek advice from my careers adviser regarding the process of finding and applying for an apprenticeship. We spoke about why I chose an alternative route to university and how this would be more beneficial to my “10-year plan”. After this, I had the chance to sit down with them and go through the resources they had pulled together in regards to where, when and how I could start applying.

My initial expectation of apprenticeships was that I would have to spend 20 per cent of my time attending college as part of my training. Upon starting at Google and being introduced to my WhiteHat coach, I soon discovered that my assumption was wrong. Instead of leaving the office for my training sessions, my coach would visit the Google office for monthly training sessions. This meant I didn’t have to leave the workplace and could maximise my time there. The best thing about my apprenticeship is that I’m not treated like a student as my manager and mentor have both ensured that I am fully integrated into my team. I’ve also been given responsibilities that have real value (and I’m not stuck with the jobs that nobody wants to do).

‘No two days are ever the same’

My day-to-day work entails a wide range of tasks, both analytical and creative. I’ve worked on creating first-party measurement, which included analysis and creating graphs as visual representation. With a background in photography, I was given the chance to work with Adobe platforms in order to design content for a client presentation. As Google is such a broad business, no day is ever the same as the previous one. This is what I love about my work as I can never expect what comes next, and use my time here to broaden my skills across different areas of expertise. The only thing that stays the same is my designated hour-long lunch break, which is something I definitely look forward to every day!

I’ve found that I thoroughly enjoy the analytical side of digital marketing, which is surprising as I’ve always disliked maths at school. I also enjoy working on creative briefs, where I can use Photoshop to design original content. As a young digital marketer, I receive support from my team as they always ensure that I’ve got a sufficient amount of work to do that would help develop my existing skills effectively. All the Google digital marketing apprentices respect each other as we have strengths in different areas. As I’m on the entertainment team, my favourite part of my job is having the opportunity to work alongside brands I’ve grown up with, which is great.

As a WhiteHat apprentice, I get to regularly meet with other apprentices. This has meant I can expand my network, as well as learn about how my apprenticeship differs from theirs. As some of my friends have gone to university, my world is completely different to theirs - they attend lectures three times a week whereas I work 40 hours a week. My family and friends were so supportive of my decision, and are proud that I’ve had so many amazing opportunities as I’ve worked hard to get here. I’ve also opened their eyes to alternative routes, and that university isn’t the “be-all and end-all of higher education”.

I am hoping my apprenticeship will take me further in the digital marketing industry, working across areas in both analytics and creative. I hope to continue my career in global companies that give me the chance to work with international markets and brands.

A final thought to leave you on is that I’m a strong advocate for apprenticeships as I believe they will start your career off with the best experience across numerous industries - also without the £50K debt! Therefore, the question of whether I would recommend apprenticeships to younger people who are unsure of what to do is a no-brainer.

Jamilah Simpson is a level 3 digital marketing apprentice with Whitehat and Google. Her story is part of the #InspiringApprentices campaign