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The Royal West of England Academy of Art | Ben Giles Age 19

Getting hands-on work experience at a gallery while getting qualifications at the same time.

"As a kid, my dad used to take me to the [Bristol] Museum every weekend and I used to really like it. So I came for the interview at the museum because I really thought it would be cool to work in a museum. I really like the collections and being around things that are old and have history."I ended up coming here [Royal West of England Academy of Art] in the end, which I'm really pleased about. Compared to the other apprentices at the museum, my tasks are a lot more hands-on, which suits me quite well."My job changes from day to day, that's what I like about working here so much. It's different every day and that's what I reckon working in the cultural sector is really good for. So some days I'll be doing manual work like putting up exhibitions or building shelves or anything that needs to be done. Some days I'll be on reception, or given projects or type up reports and things like that.

"At school I didn't like being treated like a child, not having mutual respect. So I got in some trouble at school. But then I came here and you get treated as an equal, like an adult, which is really good. And you're getting paid and you're also getting a qualification, so for me this is the perfect fit. "For college, I actually do my course from home, we do it conferencing on Skype with my teacher in Plymouth. So I work four days a week and then one day I stay at home and do my college course.

"We have a regional meeting for all the southwest apprentices every six weeks or so. It's really good to be able to compare notes and see how different venues have different tasks and things that need doing and different responsibilities. If I've got a problem with something and I don't want to ask my line manager, I've got some people I can relate to. "I want to finish my NVQ2 and then do an NVQ3, and build up UCAS points so hopefully I'll go to uni somewhere. I'm hoping that having two years of experience will put me ahead of all the other people who are looking for jobs. I'd definitely like to stay in the cultural sector, just not being at the bottom of the ladder like I am now."

Footage of Ben at work: http://www.creative-choices.co.uk/choices-tv/heritage-tv/

Mooshmedia Marketing Ltd | Tom Westlake Age 16

'A creative design agency in Cornwall has found an apprentice with a big future ahead of him.'

Darren Higgs, Managing Director of Mooshmedia Marketing Ltd, which was established 10 years ago and is based in Bude, has found an apprentice with a lot of talent. Tom Westlake, 16, from Bude, has been in the job for just a few months and already has been spotted as having the potential to run the company.Manager Darren Higgs said: “Our target is for Tom to grow within the business and gain the skills and technical know-how to manage it himself on a day to day basis; to win new business, work closely with clients, and get the jobs out of the door at the standard our clients expect.”“We’re a small design agency which experienced rapid growth in 2008 so we had to expand our manpower to meet the demands of our clients. After employing a graduate who didn’t work out, we were approached by a local 16-year-old keen to get experience in design and found that Creative Apprenticeships were available through Plymouth College of Art.”“After a couple of weeks, we were very, very impressed by Tom. I gave him a laptop with Adobe Creative Suite 4 to take home and get acquainted with, and he picked up the software really quickly.”“From day one Tom has worked on fully commercial jobs. He’s been successful designing business cards, leaflets and numerous websites and has really supported me by sharing the workload on several projects. We work with some outstanding corporate and consumer clients, producing intelligent solutions and engaging design and Tom has really taken this ethos on board.”

“As we have been getting busier and busier, it has been important to employ someone who understands the way we work; what’s expected of them, and who we can train from scratch in technical expertise, and who doesn’t come with any bad habits.”The benefits of hiring an apprentice have been invaluable for Mooshmedia, who say the financial rewards are great: “Not only is it cost-effective for a business in the first two to three years - but for the apprentice, there is no doubt that they come out of the apprenticeship better off than by going to university and accumulating £15k of debt.”Asked if an apprentice was the right choice for his company, he agreed it was:  “I would absolutely hire an apprentice again; in fact it would be my first choice before recruiting a skilled applicant. Tom is a very hardworking individual so for us hiring an apprentice has been an excellent choice.”Mooshmedia is undergoing a rapid period of expansion and will soon be moving to larger premises in February.For more about Mooshmedia visit

www.mooshmedia.com.

For more information about apprenticeships, visit www.creativebusinessservices.com.