Inmarsat’s youngest ever employee on the transition from school to apprenticeship

Inmarsat has a core belief that young people are integral to the organisation’s development and the company has been offering a wide variety of apprenticeships, internships and work experiences to young people for the last few years. As a global company, the world leader in mobile satellite communications, Inmarsat operates across many different sectors and can cater for many interests. And in my experience, it offers the ideal role for not just those who have an interest in space but across a wide variety of different disciplines from marketing to engineering.

Just over two years ago, when Inmarsat decided to hire a marketing apprentice for their aviation business, they reached out to me via LinkedIn to see if I would be interested. I’m still not quite sure why they chose to reach out to me. I had just finished my GCSEs and was on the hunt for an apprenticeship but would have not necessarily thought of applying to a satellite communications company. At 16, I didn’t really know what direction my career might take. I loved business studies and the team aspect of PE at school and what I did know was that I wanted to apply these interest into whatever I did next.

Hard work pays off

Before Inmarsat approached me, I had decided to take the opportunities in front of me, spending my school holidays on work experience in a variety of industries. I was privileged to have the opportunity to have a work placement at Barclay’s investment bank and then as a runner in a visual and sound effects agency in a two week work experience slot given to all year 10 pupils (age 14/15) at my secondary school. After offering a week of my time, which I really enjoyed, to the agency I was ecstatic to hear they wanted me back for another month placement through my summer holidays, due to how pleased they were with my commitment and consistent hard work.

In my final year at school (age 15/16), I continued working in the half-term holidays, this time with another agency. The same happened again and the agency asked for me to come back for further work experience. My feelings didn’t change, working continued to fuel my desire to ensure I found an apprenticeship or a job that allowed me to be creative.

The work experience didn’t just give me connections in the creative industry, it also allowed me to kick start my ambition to transition straight from school to a working environment, rather than going to college or sixth form, which I had set in my mind I wouldn’t enjoy. I felt that I couldn’t wait another two plus years to get to where I wanted to be. For me personally – and probably not right for everybody - I felt that I would be wasting years of my life if I stayed in full time education, where I wasn’t enjoying myself. I knew that I wanted an apprenticeship or a full time job in London. I love London, the buzz and atmosphere.  It’s so different to anywhere else in the UK.

Unfortunately the agencies weren’t employing in these areas at the time, so I had to continue my job/apprenticeship hunting – from networking day to day and shadowing some of the most experienced people the industry, I connected with some great people. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be able express myself and be creative in whatever the next step of my career was. Working gave me a sense of achievement which I never felt at school.

Opportunity of a lifetime

September 2018 was when I had my first contact with Inmarsat via LinkedIn. I had been using the platform to advertise myself to companies looking to hire. I felt like I finally had an opportunity, when Inmarsat reached out to me, when you’re endlessly applying with thousands of other people (who have more experience), you pretty much never hear a response but this felt different as I had direct communication with Inmarsat now.

The role available was a marketing assistant in the aviation business. An industry I knew little about, I commenced thorough research into Inmarsat and the industry to ensure this was the correct step for me. I had to go through a three step interview process (one phone, two face to face), going against A level and degree level students, all who were at least two years older than me. I felt I had a slim chance of getting the role due to my lack of marketing knowledge and being younger always felt like a disadvantage to me.

But I didn’t let my nerves get the better of me, I stayed true to myself and was very honest in my interviews. My first face to face interview was one of the most nervous moments of my life, having only had one interview before (which was for the part-time job I had at the time), but this one was far more significant, it could shape the rest of my career. After waiting for some weeks – an anxious time - I received a call to offer me the role. Relief and excitement are just a few of the words I would use to describe that moment. It felt like scoring a last minute goal to win England the world cup.  It meant that much to me!

The future looks bright

My youth wasn’t keeping me back at all. Inmarsat had never had an employee under the age of 18, so this was a massive change for the company too. I knew an apprenticeship was going to be a huge change to my life, one I was ready but also anxious for. The fear of the unknown. Working for a few months in different companies will never paint the full picture, so you never know if it’s going to be different to what you expect. It did take me some weeks to settle in, get used to my new team and my surroundings. Since my first day in November 2018, my time with the business has flown by; I count myself very lucky that people had the faith and trust in me, to help me succeed.

In my two and a half years I have had lots of opportunities to work on numerous projects such as live broadcasts, global events and re branding campaigns and having the freedom and responsibility to lead my own projects and campaigns. Learning whilst on the job is important no matter your age but as an apprentice it is essential. Even now I can say I learn something new every week.

I have contributed in my short time at Inmarsat to some major projects and have also been here for some key moments. I was here for our Global Xpress satellite launch (GX5), contributed to our aviation live broadcasted event FlightPlan at the beginning of the pandemic and also worked on Inmarsat Aviation’s re branding campaign ‘Built to Fly’ – playing an important role in the internal launch. During these projects, I’ve worked with some of the most experienced individuals in the industry and some of the best creative global agencies.

I’m currently in the final months of my Level 4 Marketing Executive apprenticeship, which has enhanced my development and knowledge in marketing. I contribute one day a week specifically to my apprenticeship, so I can manage my workload wisely. I look forward to my future at Inmarsat, completing my apprenticeship, continuing onto further courses and contributing to plenty more campaign and projects.