Julie Bailey coordinates an early-years masters programme at the University of Sussex. She wanted to challenge herself, learn something new, and build out the creative side of her role. The Junior Content Producer apprenticeship gave her video, film, web, and social-campaign skills she could put straight back into her day job — and a much wider range of doors to push on.
Doing the apprenticeship while staying in role
Julie did the apprenticeship as an existing university employee. That's a route a lot of people overlook — apprenticeships aren't only for school leavers, and the funding works for upskilling staff in their current roles too. Her employer backed the learning; she did the work alongside her course-coordination job.
A broad range of digital media skills
The Junior Content Producer apprenticeship covers everything a small creative team has to do: new software for video and film editing, building a website from scratch, making her own short film, and running social media campaigns end-to-end. By the end of the programme Julie had a portfolio she didn't have when she started.
Learning from tutors who do the work
Julie's quote on the CPD tutors: "knowledgeable and inspiring." The cohort itself was part of the value — a mixed group of apprentices from different industries, swapping ideas and pushing each other on briefs.
What changed at work
Since finishing the apprenticeship, Julie has been picking up more creative marketing projects inside Sussex, and looking at new digital roles both at her current employer and elsewhere. It's a clean example of how the right apprenticeship rewrites what you can offer.
I really enjoyed my apprenticeship because it gave me a broad range of skills in digital media. It led to more creative and challenging projects at work — and I met a great bunch of people from different industries.