National Apprentice Week: TGt Meets - Marketa Novakova

With it being National Apprenticeship Week we caught up with one of New College's apprentices, Marketa Novakova, who is the production operator at New College. She's studying Mechatronic Engineering Level 3, so we asked her all about what it is like to be an apprentice! Here's what she had to say...

What school/college did you attend?

I attended a gymnasium in the Czech Republic. Gymnasium is a secondary school that prepares students for higher education at a university. I finished college in 2009 and I didn’t know what direction I wanted to go so I decided to go abroad and learn a new language.

What were your favourite subjects?

Maths and physics

Why have you chosen an apprenticeship?

My work was outstanding at my current company but I didn’t realise it at the time because I didn’t have enough confidence. When a vacancy for an apprenticeship showed up in my company, my work colleagues encouraged me to apply.

Was it an alternative to university or are you a graduate apprentice?

Neither. I had no qualifications.

Why did you choose an apprenticeship?

It’s a good opportunity to get a qualification, study something that I really like and I won’t need to pay for the course.

How’s it going?

It’s nice and I’m happy here but it was very scary for me at the beginning.

What are you learning?

Mechatronic Engineering  

Where do you hope it will take you?

I hope it will help me progress my career in my current company so that I can carry on doing what I like and be good at it.

To find out more about New College's apprenticeships then please visit their website here.