I joined the Advent Communications team in May 2017, not knowing what to expect and very aware that I had no experience in business administration or even in an office environment.

After five months of being unemployed and taking a chance with an apprenticeship with Coventry College, Advent Communications came to my rescue and took me on as their office administration apprentice.

On my first day, I was shown how to do one of the many important jobs within Advent which is clipping media coverage from all of our press releases, be it online or in print.

I quickly learnt just how much work the team puts into their clients and how much coverage their stories gain when I was handed a pile of various newspapers and an inbox full of emails ready to be clipped.

My various other jobs also include general admin duties and making the morning tea and coffee for when the team arrives.

As well as working at Advent, I also had my coursework to do alongside my role. I passed all three of my exams and received many well done messages from the team and found time in between clipping articles to do my written coursework. I even managed to get my all my coursework done within five months of starting, which certainly impressed everyone!

I was also nominated for the Coventry and Warwickshire Apprentice Awards 2018, and was even shortlisted for the final in the business and administration category.

It was an eventful evening and even though no award was won, I was beaming with pride from all the heartfelt messages from my family and the Advent family.

As someone who had never considered an apprenticeship before, I would highly recommend it as it gives you the opportunity to gain new skills whilst working and even if you have no experience in a certain field of work, it will open that door for you.

I still have two months to go before I can gain my qualification, but I have felt so welcomed to the Advent family that I cannot imagine working anywhere else. If they will have me, I will stay!

Pictured: Kat Adams, administration apprentice at Advent Communications