Each year the Degree Apprenticeship Programme begins with a week long residential on campus at Kent, with intensive learning and intensive socialising! Having missed out on this opportunity in 2020 due to the pandemic, this one was always going to be an especially good one. Vicky Haigney, just starting her third year on the DAP tells us about it.
‘After missing last year’s residential and in-person seminars, it was obvious that the Stage 3 apprentices were really glad to be back in Kent. For many, it’s the only chance people from some far-reaching departments and locations get to meet up in person, so the week came as a welcome start to the year. This also meant the variety of social events which were timetabled were widely enjoyed, from the pub quiz to the mini-golf course.
In the seminars, the opportunity to harness theories from lectures and use them in interactive games was a unique and fun way to consolidate our learning. The opportunity to meet our lecturers, have discussions with our peers and ask questions in person is always a really valuable experience which brings a different dimension to our online learning. Despite this, I don’t think as apprentices we’re missing out by not taking a conventional degree path. We’re lucky to be able to apply what we learn (both virtually and from our sessions in Kent) to our work, and similarly can apply on-the-job learning to the degree itself. For example, after the residential I joined a new department in a policy facing role and was immediately able to employ skills I’d picked up from our Policy Analysis module. I think I speak for the rest of my cohort when I say I’m looking forward to us all getting together again soon for our seminars later this term!’
Vicky Haigney is in her her 3rd year on the Degree Apprenticeship Programme, placed in the Office for National Statistics for two years she has just been apprenticed to the Department of Education.