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Leah is a Project Management Degree Apprentice who chose the apprenticeship route for its structure, real work experience, and the chance to earn while learning. Naturally organised and drawn to planning and coordination, she found project management a perfect fit.
What interested you about studying a Degree Apprenticeship?
I had decided I was going to go to university, but as it drew nearer, I realised it maybe wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do. I was more interested in getting into the world of work. I’m someone who values routine and structure, and obviously getting paid is nice as well.
A few weeks before my A-levels, I did a bit of a U-turn and decided I was going to look into apprenticeships — probably the worst time, because it was June and a lot of them had already closed. But when I looked into it, there were still plenty of opportunities coming up in different places.
The benefits for me were having a structured day-to-day routine and getting into the world of work early. You’re getting a degree and earning while you’re learning. Since joining, I’ve loved doing an apprenticeship because you really do get stuck in. Before I began, I didn’t really understand what a day would look like, but I’m someone who likes to learn something and then do it — and that’s how I learn, by making mistakes and getting hands-on.
Can you describe the pathway that led you to a project management degree apprenticeship?
I looked into different common apprenticeships, and one of the most popular ones in Cumbria is project management. When I looked into it properly, I realised it sounded exactly like the kind of thing I naturally do. I’ve always been the person who organises trips or plans parties. I’ve always been the one who’s very organised, so I thought it might be something I’d really enjoy.
But, as I said, a lot of the big corporations and big organisations had already closed their apprenticeship applications by the time I started looking. It just happened that I was searching on Indeed and spotted this apprenticeship. When I read more about Cybermoor as a company, everything about them aligned with my own personal values and morals. They’re dedicated to community benefit and innovative technology, and that really resonated with me.
What skills were you hoping to develop by joining an apprenticeship, and do you feel you have gained or are gaining those skills?
I think the main skills I wanted to develop were things like time management, but in a practical setting. It always amazes me how long it takes to do things — even something as simple as writing an email. When I was younger, I never understood how tasks like that could take so long, but sometimes you don’t realise the detail involved. Since joining, I definitely think I’ve become much better at managing my time.
We work on a range of different projects with the same team — it’s not like we have separate teams for each project — so I’m constantly managing my time across everything I’ve got going on, as well as balancing university at the same time.
I think a big misconception about apprenticeships is that the university side isn’t as important, but you’re still getting the same degree as someone who goes to university full-time. There are still assignments, extra reading, and all the usual academic expectations.
Another key skill in project management is learning to be pushy, and that’s something that can be really difficult, especially as an apprentice. But I definitely think I’m learning it more. Getting people to do things on time can be a nightmare, but I’m learning how to be assertive, how to negotiate, and how to communicate well so that things get done. Ultimately, that’s what a project manager does — they make sure the things that need to happen actually happen — so learning to be just pushy enough is a really important skill.
How has your apprenticeship supported your day-to-day work, particularly through what you’re learning on the degree?
I think the learning at university definitely gives a foundation to everything — understanding terminology, basic software, and different management structures. It’s taught us the best-practice ways to set up things like risk registers, communications plans, stakeholder engagement approaches, spreadsheets, and so on.
It works really well alongside my job because you see what the best-practice method is, but also how it’s actually done in real workplaces. At uni, they’ll often say, “This is how APM recommends doing it,” but different businesses have their own ways of working. Some things you simply don’t need, and if you followed the textbook version, it would just create more work.
So it’s useful to learn: “This is the best-practice way to do it — but here’s how we do it because it’s easier,” or “Here’s how we do it because it’s more cost-efficient.” Seeing both sides — the academic ideal and the practical reality — has been really helpful.
How do you feel your apprenticeship has benefited you personally?
I definitely think it has pushed me to have more confidence. There’s a bit of imposter syndrome at first. I go to a lot of events in London, travelling down on the train, and it can be hard when you’re in a room full of people who are much older and much more experienced. It’s difficult to feel like you belong there or to feel confident enough to speak up. It’s still something I struggle with, but I do think it’s improving. I’m starting to feel like I have just as much right to be there as anyone else.
Time management has been a big one too. It’s made me realise how much I used to take my evenings for granted when I was at school, because the days were so much shorter. Working full-time has forced me to be more productive and to make sure I’m doing nice things at the weekend to balance the working week.
Have you made any particular changes to the way you work since starting your project management apprenticeship, and have the skills you’re learning influenced how you approach your role?
I think it’s hard to say because I didn’t work in my job before I started the course, so everything I’ve learned has come either from university or from experience at work. But things like communications plans are relatively new. A lot of the projects before I joined didn’t really have an in-depth communications plan unless it was required by the funder. Through my uni work, I started saying, “Actually, I’ll put together a communications plan because it will help me understand my assignments,” and that’s helped both me and the business.
We’re a small enterprise — literally just me and my boss as the only full-time employees. We work in a lot of project consortiums with subcontractors and part-time people, so it’s a very fluid team. That makes managing people quite difficult, especially when they’re not in your organisation but you’re still working closely with them. They’ve always been very open to me introducing new things and bringing in what I’ve learned from uni. They genuinely want to learn from me.
I think that’s one of the benefits of having an apprentice. A lot of project managers don’t use structured frameworks — they have their own ways of doing things, with bits of structure here and there. But by having an apprentice, I’ve been able to introduce them to more formal approaches. For example, they’d never done a Green Book business case before, and we’ve just started creating one. I’ve just completed a module on business cases, so it’s really helpful to understand the framework and theory behind it and then apply it in practice, as well as being able to share the resources.
I think a lot of smaller businesses assume having an apprentice won’t benefit them, or that it will take up too much time. But if you get the right person who’s self-directed, they can bring a lot of value by showing you ways of doing things you might not have traditionally considered.
What have you found most interesting during your apprenticeship, and is there anything that stands out in particular?
I think the most interesting part has been working in a smaller organisation and working with different project partners. It’s so different to how things are for most of the Carlisle cohort. When we go in person, pretty much everyone else works at places like Sellafield, Atkins or Morgan Sindall, where they’re in very structured placement teams. They usually have one project, one team, and a very set way of working.
Ours is much more fluid. Every working day is different. I might be doing a lot of admin one day, and the next day I’m going on a site visit for a data centre. There’s a lot of variety in what we do, which I find really interesting.
Another thing I really enjoy is the community benefit behind the organisation I work for. It’s not directly related to the apprenticeship itself, but we get to do a lot of work that genuinely helps communities, especially rural communities. That’s really nice, particularly because it’s in Cumbria, where I live. It makes me feel like I’m making a difference through the projects I’m involved in — not just earning a living, but doing something meaningful at the same time.
What do you feel is the most important thing you’ve learnt about being an apprentice?
I think it’s easy as an apprentice to diminish yourself. I’ve often introduced myself by saying I’m “just an apprentice,” almost as a way of minimising myself. I think it comes from that imposter-syndrome feeling — being around people with so much experience, who are older and further on in their careers, can make you feel like you don’t quite belong.
But I’ve realised that the “just an apprentice” mentality doesn’t get you anywhere. You constantly have to prove to yourself that you’re just as capable as anyone else. A lot of apprentices go on to do amazing things because they bring fresh ideas and new learning into their teams.
I’m saying all this, but I still catch myself doing it now. I’ll go to events or meetings and feel like all I do is say hello and goodbye. But it’s a process — becoming more confident, speaking up, sharing your ideas, and not holding back because you think, “I can’t, I’m an apprentice.”
There’s also a common misconception that apprentices are there to make coffees or do the basic tasks, but that’s not true. If apprentices are utilised properly, they can be incredibly valuable to a company.
Do you have any final thoughts about your course, your apprenticeship, or the university experience as a whole?
I think the course is really well structured. So far, we’ve had a good variety of modules that look at the foundations of project management. We also do a lot of group activities when we’re in person, and hearing other people’s experiences is always helpful. You naturally build your own network just by being in the same room as people from different companies.