Interview with an apprentice – Zahra Errami

To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week 2020 we’ve interviewed 5 of our past apprentices who have achieved success in their careers following their apprenticeship. Our fourth interviewee of the series is Zahra Errami.

Name:                                     Zahra Errammi
Age:                                         26
From:                                      Anglesey
Apprentice Employer:        ITV Cymru Wales
Apprentice Job Title:          Creative and Digital Apprentice

What were you doing prior to the apprenticeship?

Before the apprenticeship, I was a floor manager in a popular high street fashion store.

Why did you want to do the apprenticeship?

I’ve never considered myself the “academic” type, and never really found something I was 100% sure about to even apply for University, so an apprenticeship in a creative field where you can learn on the job seemed the perfect match. I’d been working as a freelance Make-up artist for a few years and loved working TV and film jobs, so the interest in the industry was always there, but I felt like I had more to offer.

What did the apprentice job entail?

I was lucky enough to try my hand at most roles within the newsroom, from camera operating, gallery roles to writing original journalism pieces for the ITV Wales website. I found my place in Digital and really enjoyed the Journalistic side of news, so I stayed on at Digital and got to take creative control over the Instagram which took me to some new heights (literally) – on the roof of the Principality for instance – not somewhere I’d ever thought I’d be!

What programmes/projects did you work on?

I’ve been involved with so much during my time, I got to kick-off my apprenticeship working within the Welsh current affairs l team, working as a researcher for programmes like Ein Byd and Y Byd ar Bedwar. Also created original social content for both ITV News and Hansh S4C. Making bespoke digital content for ITV News for Pride Cymru, is by far one of my proudest projects.

Did you face any difficulties whilst doing your apprenticeship?

No, not really. I struggled slightly with re-doing my essential skills, but the support of my peers and staff at Sgil Cymru helped me get them done and out of the way so I could progress with my work. Otherwise, it was plain sailing from the start and throughout.

What happened when you completed your apprenticeship?

I got lucky! A job as a trainee Digital Journalist came up for the digital platform Hansh S4C  and I honestly couldn’t have dreamt of a better job fit for me. I applied and secured an interview. Two weeks later, with a month left of my apprenticeship I got the news that I had got the job. So I started work straight away after I finished the apprenticeship.

Have you changed/grown as a result of the apprenticeship?

I think I’ve grown a huge amount in terms of my confidence and skills from doing an apprenticeship. I’ve also seen a great improvement in my Welsh language skills, both oral and written, from doing some modules in Welsh at Sgil Cymru and working within the Welsh language department at ITV Wales. I would say I’ve changed my attitude towards work, after years of working in retail I was unmotivated and lacked focus in my career. Now that I enjoy work, I’m genuinely excited to get up each morning to go to work and have a much more positive outlook.

What is the next career step for you?

I hope to gain as much experience and new skills from the traineeship as I can get, to hopefully secure a Multimedia Journalist position at ITV, a position that’s more digitally focused than a traditional journalism roles. I would love to eventually produce long-form digital content for one of the big broadcasters.