My name is Mark Smith, and I am 46 years old. After many years of working in an office, I decided I wanted to change my job completely, but I wasn’t sure what to do. After seeing a Facebook post from an old school friend (and subsequently my tutor), I decided to apply for an apprenticeship. I have always played and been interested in sport. So the opportunity to assist with Physical Education lessons in a school was very appealing.
In many ways, completing an apprenticeship was an unusual decision, and I was concerned that I would be considerably older than the vast majority of other apprentices. However, my age was not an issue at any point in my course.
I can honestly say that completing an apprenticeship was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and has completed changed both my self perception and my future goals.

What did you learn during your apprenticeship?

I learned a great deal about assisting with and delivering Physical Education lessons in primary and infant schools. I also discovered that I thoroughly enjoyed working in a school environment, and I plan to continue working in schools in the future.

What skills did you learn from attending training one day per week?

I learned all of the essential aspects of how to deliver Physical Education sessions and how each of these aspects were very important in delivering enjoyable sessions. I also developed my communication and planning skills and gained a lot of ideas on how to provide sessions for different age groups and abilities. As the course proceeded, I also became more confident, which helped me contribute more to the school where I was working. 

What did you enjoy about your apprenticeship?

I genuinely enjoyed everything about my apprenticeship. The opportunity to work in a school while developing my skills was an excellent way to gain experience and put ideas into practice.

What do you hope to achieve in the future? What are your career ambitions?

I plan to continue working in a primary school and am currently applying for jobs in this area. In terms of career ambitions, my only current ambition is to be happy in my career and continue to try to develop and improve while doing a job I enjoy.

To find out more about our apprenticeships, visit www.inspireplus.org.uk/apprenticeships