Faye Linturn

Name: Faye Linturn

School: Bournside Sixth Form

Apprenticeship: Finance

Company: Superdry

Current job role: Sourcing Administrator at Superdry

"I decided early on that I didn’t want to go to university, despite pressure to apply as this was the natural choice for A-level students. I’d had enough of school, wasn’t ready to leave home, and didn’t want the debt of £9,000 a year before even thinking about the cost of finding somewhere to live and feed myself.

I'm really enjoying my time here at Superdry as they really accept you as an apprentice, and give you lots of opportunity to be showcased. I’m allowed to get involved with lots of interesting activities, that I wouldn’t have been a part of if I’d gone to university.

My top tips when applying for an apprenticeship:

There’s no harm in applying - I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do Finance originally, but I’m so glad I did. There’s loads of opportunities and if you apply you can get a good idea of whether it’s for you or not. Don’t rush it! - I did work for 9 months before applying anywhere. I applied at Messier Dowty for an engineering apprenticeship. I went through the whole process, received a welcome pack and start date but I turned it down. I knew it was an apprenticeship for my parents and not for me so knew it wasn’t right for me. I had to decide if I wanted to get up every morning and go to work in an engineering environment. I didn’t so I turned it down. I took my time to find the right one for me."