Loren's Story - Interviews During Lockdown

When I was at school, I knew I didn’t want to go to university. I enjoyed school but I learn better through practical tasks than sitting and listening to lectures.

My friends and family were really supportive. My parents knew I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do so, if I had gone to university, I wouldn’t have known what to study. When I came across Crimson, I knew that was the route I wanted to go down. I had done computer science at GCSE, so it was a perfect fit. The Crimson programme is well-structured and well-paid, so there were no concerns there.

I heard about the Crimson programme when Cat, our Head of Academy, came into my college. She brought along two of the apprentices from last year’s cohort to share their stories.

Once I’d applied, all the interviews were done over Microsoft Teams due to coronavirus. Despite the global situation, the process was very straightforward and we were always kept in the loop as to the next steps. It was very well structured.

I’m really enjoying it. Everyone is so lovely and it’s a really nice environment. We’ve gelled well as a cohort and we have a really good support system between Crimson and Digital Native.

So far we’ve been working on self-study and our induction. Managing my time has been really important, especially when working from home.

We’ve also been doing a lot of self reflection. I’ve learnt a lot about myself in the last few weeks. I’ve realised I’m very determined and it takes a lot for me to give up on something.

I’m definitely interested in doing a degree apprenticeship once I finish my Level 4. Crimson are so supportive and it would be a huge opportunity.