During May, JGA hosted apprentice and alumni events in London and Manchester. The events aimed to bring together past and present apprentices to mix and mingle and listen to an interesting keynote speaker.

The first event was in London at the White Swan, Covent Garden. The second was in Manchester at Fountain House, Albert Square.

Thank you to everyone who came and said hello – we hope you had as much fun as we did. Keep an eye out for the next one!

At the London event, ex-comms apprentice Gabriella Jessup delivered an insightful talk outlining her journey from Government Communications Service apprentice through senior comms management at a biotech and Barclays, to now launching her own business as speaker, mentor and coach.

Gabriella’s key points included:

• The biggest challenge to progression is learning to believe in yourself
• Find mentors to give you additional perspective
• Always volunteer to take part in new things

Following the apprentice, alumni and staff event in London, the second event took place in Manchester.

Andrew Dixon, former apprentice and now High-Speed Rail Strategist with Manchester City Council, told us how his apprenticeship was his first step ion a career which has seen him rise to a senior leadership role in the public sector.

Andrew’s key lessons were:

• Listen to advice, keep going and stretch yourself
• Everyone is different
• Teams – you can’t do it alone
• Use CPD to grow