National Apprenticeship week

As it is National Apprenticeship week, we wanted to have a chat to our Higher Level Apprenticeship  Marketing and Communications Executive, Aaron Bradley about his experience working with Newry BID and the benefits of taking on an apprenticeship.

Aaron talked to us about how he found the apprenticeship, “I  went to university in Liverpool and wasn’t enjoying it so I came home and started researching areas I thought I would enjoy. I had thought about marketing and searched online for marketing courses. I found the Higher Level Apprenticeship in Digital Marketing, Advertising and Communications at the Southern Regional College. I was immediately interested, particularly because it primarily focused on the digital side of marketing which I thought I would be good at.”

Aaron was accepted on to the course and succeeded in securing a placement, however due to the lockdown, Aaron was put on furlough after only five weeks of working and was then made redundant.

Although tough at the time, Aaron maintained that those five weeks were a blessing as “It was enough time to show me that I really wanted to study, learn, and work in this field. I did not let the pandemic put me off, so I sought to find placement with another company.”

Aaron said, “Thanks to my former manager , I was able to secure a placement here at Newry BID with her help and reference.”

Aaron explained that “Newry BID (Business Improvement District) is my placement and I work four  days a week and study one day to complete the apprenticeship.”

When asked how he got to work for Newry BID he stated that it was so hard to find anywhere that was employing people. It was down his former manager who had promised to help him to try to get a new apprenticeship placement when he was made redundant. “My previous manager contacted me about a potential opportunity and I was so excited. I was lucky enough to get an interview with Eamonn, the BID Manager on the Thursday and I started the following Monday. I was straight into the deep end, but it was brilliant from the start.”

On a day-to-day basis, Aaron told us that no two days are the same, “One day I could be helping Eamonn doing different jobs supporting members; on another I could be updating the social media accounts; the social media posts; social media plans; and researching important areas that could benefit Newry BID. I also work on spreadsheets, contact lists and contacting members about how we can help them. I’m constantly learning and doing different things. Recently I have been busy helping with the re-vote and knowing the benefits of BID it makes my job even more enjoyable.”

When asked does he enjoy working for Newry BID, Aaron said, “I love it, I like it even more than I thought I would because I truly believe that BID is such a good thing for Newry. I love working somewhere, where I believe the work they’re doing is actually useful.”

“If a job ever came up with Newry BID, I would definitely recommend going for it. Eamonn the manager, is amazing at his job and is well respected by everyone. He’s on the ball and really knows what he’s doing. I think anyone would be lucky to work with Eamonn and Deborah Loughran as well. Deborah is heavily involved and is amazing. She is actually my mentor for my apprenticeship, and I have learnt so much from her . If you get the chance to work with either of them, I think you’re very lucky and definitely go for it.”