A night of celebrations

On the 6th of October graduated apprentices, current apprentices, employers, tutors, and coaches gathered to celebrate a whopping 10 Cohorts worth of graduations at Rain Bar in Manchester. Due to Covid, we were unable to celebrate in style when the groups finished their qualifications throughout 2020 and earlier in 2021, so a big celebration for cohorts 17-27 was well overdue. After weeks of planning, designing certificates, organising speakers and venues, the day quickly arrived. And that was well worth the wait!

The evening started with a bit of mingling as guests trickled in and were welcomed with fizz on arrival. It was lovely to see apprentices old and new getting to re-unite with each other and for many, actually meet them in person for the first time, instead of just online! After all the introductions, everyone sat down ready for the ceremony led by Sandy Lindsay MBE. As each individual walked up to collect their certificate, we celebrated a mix of qualifications as the older cohorts did the Digital Marketing Level 3 and the more recent cohorts, the Junior Content Production Level 3.

Stephen Kelly from Cohort 27

Humaira Khan from Cohort 22

Jenny Hirst, Cohort 19

After everyone had their photos taken holding their long-awaited certificates, we were lucky enough to have a panel of graduated apprentices made up of Laura Lightfoot, Cohort 22, Apadmi, Emma Green, Cohort 17, MediaCityUK and Ali Hussain, Cohort 27, Komi Group to speak about their journeys and what exciting things they are doing now. They provided the current apprentices with wonderful advice on taking up every opportunity they can and not being afraid to ask questions, not only in their apprenticeships but also in their careers.

We then were lucky enough to hear from Eve Young a former Juice apprentice who graduated over 5 years ago, and Pollyanna Ward from Social Chain. They delivered a talk ‘My social media career: How it started vs how it’s going’, exploring the timeline of their careers. Eve was an apprentice in Cohort 12, so it was great for our current apprentices/recently graduated apprentices to see the huge success she’s had since graduating from the programme.

After all the panels and talks were complete, it was time for more mingling, prosecco, and photos. There was an opportunity for graduates to have their photos taken with their caps and gowns. Here are just a few captured that night:

Ali Hussain and Leah Collins from Cohort 27

Molly Standring, Cohort 20 and Jade Jones, Cohort 22

We are so glad that we finally had chance to celebrate not only Cohort 17-27’s qualifications but also the incredible achievements they have made since finishing their apprenticeship programme. It has been amazing watching them grow in self-confidence and developing their skills throughout their apprenticeships and now into their careers. They all are now alumni’s that the next group of apprentices can look up to find inspiration from. To our alumni, we wish you all the best of luck in your careers, keep working hard and stay in touch!