'Apprenticeship got me involved in real life', says teenager who hated school
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Version 0 of 1. After completing GCSEs, Poppy Wolfarth, 21, from Liverpool, was adamant she was not going back to school. “I really didn’t enjoy high school. I really struggled being in a classroom for hours a week,” said Wolfarth. At a meeting with apprenticeship consultants Asset training & Consultancy to discuss her job prospects, the company suggested she try an apprenticeship. She was offered a place at the company, working on reception. It involved classes and exams on business management, but Wolfarth quickly realised it was what she wanted to do. “I really loved it. I was earning money, able to go out with my friends, save up and go on holiday. And I’m an active person and I was learning by shadowing someone. When I was 16, I didn’t know what I wanted to do but, working for Asset, I’ve had a lot of different roles,” said Wolfarth. I’m more confident to put myself out of my comfort zone After a year, she received her intermediate apprenticeship in business administration, then went on to complete her advanced apprenticeship in business administration, and an apprenticeship in team leading. She now works for Asset training as a learner engagement officer – giving advice to young people about careers and apprenticeships – and is in the process of buying a property in Liverpool. Wolfarth was elected to sit on the national executive council of the National Union of Students this year. She is the first apprentice to do so. Before being elected, she had to give a speech in front of 2,000 people, a feat she never would have considered if it weren’t for her apprenticeship. “I’m more confident to put myself out of my comfort zone,” she said. When Wolfarth’s friend, also an apprentice, broke her leg and was not paid sick pay while recovering, Wolfarth brought to the attention of the NUS the fact that many apprentices earn too little to qualify for sick pay. Campaigning by the NUS was successful and, in October, the national minimum wage for apprentices will increase from £2.73 to £3.30 an hour, meaning that between 150,000 and 200,000 apprentices who were not previously eligible for sick pay, will be able to receive it. “That was kind of a big success. If I was at college, I wouldn’t have been bothered to get involved but, with being an apprentice and having real life issues, things that really do matter, like sick pay and childcare and working a full week and not getting paid enough, they’re bigger issues than you get in college,” said Wolfarth. |