As an SME in the Tech industry, we are proud to say that we have our own apprenticeship programme – The Software Development Degree Apprenticeship. It’s unusual (but shouldn’t be!) for a company of our size to have its own programme, but developing it solved a need for us to attract good people who would help us to grow our business for the long term. It also reflected a key value in our business of wanting to create opportunities in the tech industry for young people.
We started our apprenticeship scheme in 2016 and we're proud to say that 50% of our team are either apprentices or apprenticeship graduates. We’re a small website agency based in West Oxfordshire
8 years on, our apprenticeship programme is award-winning and has nurtured many young people who are now a core part of our team. In fact, 50% of our team are either apprentices or apprenticeship graduates. This makes us really proud.
Meet Aidan, one of our current apprentices who will take you through a day in his life of an Olamalu apprentice.
A day in the life...
I’m a Junior Developer at Olamalu and have been here for 9 months. The best aspect of my work and apprenticeship is the opportunity to learn continuously while contributing to real-world projects - learning and making a difference at the same time feels like a good way to spend my working day.
I really enjoy being part of a team where I can ask questions, get feedback, and apply what I’m learning in a practical way. It’s rewarding to see how the small tasks I complete fit into the bigger picture. Every day, I feel like I’m growing my skills and becoming more confident as a developer.
Like anything, there are aspects that I don’t enjoy and for me, this is when tasks pile up from both work and university simultaneously. It can get a bit overwhelming, especially during deadlines. But I try to manage it by staying organised and communicating with my team when things get busy. I try to remember that these busy times are helping me to form strong skills for managing the reality of day-to-day life in a web agency and will only help shape my career for the long term.
My university course work is structured in modules and each has 3-4 tests called TMAs (Tutor Marked Assessments). These can include maths questions, programming questions or longer form essay-style questions, depending on the content of the module. I study between 1-3 modules at any time. I can apply the knowledge I have learned every week within my job role, which is really satisfying.
A typical day starts when I first log online. I check and respond to any messages and emails. I then begin work, which can be either support or project work, depending on what I am scheduled to work on for the day. Support will involve looking at tickets from customers and fixing bugs or making changes to websites. If it’s a project day, I will work closely with other developers to build a new website. We have a team call at 10 AM each day to discuss the focus for each team member and catch up on other priorities.
I’ve learned so many skills since starting my apprenticeship. Problem solving is the most significant and the nature of working in website development is challenging, so resilience is a key attribute. Organisation and time management is necessary in any job, but for me, having to balance work and studying can be overwhelming, especially when I’m amidst multiple university modules – spending some time for in-depth planning of the week ahead is key for me in getting everything done and on time!
After my apprenticeship, I hope to take on more responsibility by working on increasingly complex tasks. My goal is to grow into a more senior developer role where I can lead projects and help solve challenging problems.
To read more about how we built an award-winning apprenticeship, click here.
