Our Experience of Joining Anthem Publishing as Apprentices

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Anthem Publishing, based in Bath, helps people lead happier, healthier lives through their food, wellbeing and music brands. Ella and Molly both recently joined the organisation as apprentices. The West of England Apprenticeship Service spoke to them about why they decided to do an apprenticeship, what their role involves and what working life is like at Anthem Publishing.

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Hi Ella and Molly, lovely to meet you both and thank you for sharing your insights with us. Why did you both decide to go down the apprenticeship route?

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Ella: I decided to go down the apprenticeship route in order to change careers, and to learn a new skill in a different field. Having previously only had childcare qualifications, this left my options fairly limited and therefore it was important to me to explore what other options were out there. 

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Molly: I decided to start an apprenticeship as I found myself a bit stuck career wise/post-pandemic and was ready for a change. I had been to university and college and never considered starting an apprenticeship at this stage in my life but it has actually been incredibly beneficial for my career.

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Can you tell us a bit about what your role involves at Anthem Publishing?

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Ella: I am in an advertising and sales-based role at Anthem. Throughout the working week, I reach out to new clients and discuss with them the different advertising services which we can provide, as well as staying in touch with existing clients to maintain those positive relationships.

Friday afternoon is the time that is set aside for me to progress through my apprenticeship work. I have 11 different modules which I have to complete. These contain reading sheets, questions and answers and more in depth worksheets. At the end of my apprenticeship, I will have to complete an end point assessment. This includes: a professional discussion, an observation and a written report. 

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Molly: The role with Anthem and QA is a digital marketing apprenticeship. I work on the title Vegan Food & Living and am responsible for reporting the latest vegan news, taking care of our social media channels, creating and sending marketing emails, and creating marketing graphics and content for social media. Additionally, since joining Anthem I now co-host the Simply Vegan podcast.

 

What is it like to work at Anthem Publishing? Is there anything you particularly like about working in a relatively small business?

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Ella: Working at Anthem for me so far has been great, everybody gets on with one another and you can see how supportive people are to one another. It has been great to work in an organisation that is this supportive and they all genuinely care about your welfare. I enjoy working within a smaller business because it means you can get to know people individually. 

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Molly: Working at Anthem has been such an amazing experience, everyone is so helpful and motivating. Working in a small business means there is always potential to grow and to learn new things together to help grow the company and I think that is really exciting. Although we are a small team, everyone is so talented and the work that is produced is really inspiring. 

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Do you have any advice for people who are thinking of doing an apprenticeship?

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Ella: For anyone looking to consider an apprenticeship, I would definitely say go for it. They tend to be a lot shorter than completing a degree at a University and you still end up with a qualification that is just as great.

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Molly: I would 100% recommend an apprenticeship if you are considering a new career path, the combination of working and learning is seamless, and the experience is priceless.

 

You can read more about what an apprenticeship involves and the options available here: What is an apprenticeship? (apprenticeships.gov.uk)

Search for apprenticeship vacancies in the West of England here: Apprenticeship Vacancies - West of England (wtpn.org.uk) or national vacancies here: Find an apprenticeship (findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk)

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Hear from Anthem Publishing’s Head of HR about the business’ experience of apprenticeships: Anthem Publishing - Case Study

 

Are you looking to take on an apprentice, or keen to understand your options for recruiting an apprentice or upskilling your team? Get in touch with our team. Funded by the West of England Combined Authority, we offer a free and independent apprenticeship support service for small businesses in the West of England. We can also help you understand apprenticeship opportunities available for your sector and support you to access apprenticeship funding support through the Share to Support scheme. Get in touch to talk about how we can support you: apprenticeships@wtpn.org.uk 

 

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