National apprentice week insights

[Maninder_R]

Here at HPE we strive to celebrate all members of our organisation. From the 5th of February to the 11th of February, we celebrated national Apprentice week. In support of this, the Early Careers Committee spoke to 4 HPE apprentices; Abbie Grindey, Neha Patel, Jaden Rafferty, and Luke Draper, who are all at different stages of their apprenticeship qualification. We were able to discover what their journey of becoming an apprentice at HPE looked like, as well as any key moments that have helped them to shape their career. 

We asked Jaden (Partner Business Manager) and Neha (Finance apprentice) what drew them to doing an apprenticeship over the traditional route of university. They both agreed that the key pulling factor of an apprenticeship scheme was being able to kickstart their learning and career straight after school. 

Jaden was more attracted to apprenticeships since he would be able to learn new skills, and really gain a deeper understanding of sales at the same time. 

“I knew I wanted to jump into sales, but I didn’t really know why sales. Trying to get into the world of work was quite hard, especially not doing amazing in school but I just wanted to jump in. So, being able to learn the skills early doors, apprentiships really stood out for me”. – Jaden 

Whereas Neha preferred the ability to be able to carry on her learning while being able to put it into practical day to day use. 

“I find myself being more of a practical learner, and during A levels I found it really hard to focus on studying – it was really robotic, and there wasn’t much practical application. Being an apprentice, I find it so much easier to be able to work and study at the same time.” - Neha 

While HPE is a tech company, we found it interesting to learn that none of the apprentices had much of an interest in technology before starting their role at HPE. Luke (SMB Opportunity Manager) and Abbie (Human Resources Generalist) both agreed that it was HPE’s company culture and beliefs that drew them to their apprentiships.   

“I wasn’t hugely interested in technology when I was in sixth form. I didn’t really do any tech-based subjects. However, since I’ve joined HPE I’ve learnt a lot, and I’ve taken it in my stride. The interest is now really there.” – Luke  

“Not really to be honest, nothing specifically drew me to tech, I think learning more about HPE when I came to applying for apprenticeships was what made me more interested, but I didn’t have a particular spark for it at school.” – Abbie 

One factor that they believe helps to set HPE apprenticeship schemes apart to other apprentiships, is the role progression. Both Jaden and Abbie have already seen so much progression in their roles since they’ve started. They both felt really supported during their apprenticeship schemes and they were even given the opportunity to carry on at HPE after completing their qualification.  

“Role progression at HPE is Fantastic. There are always opportunities to jump in, and making sure you say yes to everything that is available for you. There are always times to grow, and all the managers are really supportive of that further development. – Jaden 

“The role progression has been really good since I’ve started. Since the first couple of months, I discussed with my manager what the steps would be to getting to that next stage. We had those steps in place to move on to a role afterwards, and I’ve been lucky enough to be offered a position afterwards, and now I’m converted to a fully-fledged HR moment! So, the progression was really good there”. – Abbie  

Alongside job progression, it’s the opportunities and experiences that you are able to gain at HPE which really sets us apart. For example, Jaden’s highlight of his career at HPE was becoming a Partner Business Manager, where he can take his partners to many events, such as a partner golf day. He really enjoys these partner events as it allows him to really build his relationships with the partners, which Is essential for his role. 

Many people are put off doing an apprenticeship, due to the fear of missing out on the social aspects that you would receive whilst at university. However, here at HPE there is a large apprentice cohort who organise a variety of social events to get involved in.  

“We were lucky enough to go to the Lake District to do a development week as a group of apprentices, with some grads too, and that was one of the best things I’ve ever done – it was fantastic! HPE gave me that opportunity, and It’s been brilliant for that social aspect.” 

The most important piece of advice we received for a school leaver who is considering the apprenticeship route, is just to “ go for it”. 

“If you’re considering doing an apprenticeship, just go for it. If you have a look online and find what role might suit you in the apprenticeship space, I would say go for it. Put yourself out there and grab it with both hands as it is a fantastic opportunity.” - Abbie 

If you are interested in an apprenticeship scheme at HPE take a look at our careers page, linked here: https://careers.hpe.com/us/en 

Maninder Randhawa
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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