Role: Apprentice Sales Executive
My name is Emma, I’m 22 and I work in a junior account management role for the public sector team. I am from Doncaster, but I am based in our Harrogate office. I have been working at Redcentric since August 2022. I finished university last summer and graduated with a BA Hons in Business Economics. I have danced all my life and have skied every year since I was 5. I love going to the gym as I am very into health and fitness. I am also really interested in tennis.
The sales director of the company made me aware of the apprenticeship and what that particular course had to offer. This was very attractive to me, especially as I was brand new to the role and very keen to get any additional training that I could.
Prior to Redcentric I was finishing my third year at university doing a degree in Business Economics, alongside working part time at Audi as a receptionist. I joined Redcentric in a Sales Enablement role, hoping to move into the finance department of the company but after working within sales, I was interested in staying within the sales department and wanted to focus on building my career in IT sales.
For me, the apprenticeship scheme was attractive as I was new to my role with no sales experience. Therefore, I was keen to gain any knowledge in IT technical sales to help me with my job. This was made easily accessible to me as the apprenticeship was incorporated within work hours, meaning it was flexible and I could do it alongside taking on my new role.
I hope to gain a better understanding of the IT industry in relation to sales. I am keen to gain the knowledge to help me within my new role and for my own self development and improvement. This will not only make my job easier, but it will also help me to do my job well.
I believe that the IT industry is forever evolving, with the need for IT services continually growing in a modern world. I find it interesting to understand all about how our devices and services work. I also love the nature of sales, particularly in an account management role, as I am very social and love working with people and building strong relationships.
My ambition is to become skilled in a junior account manager role. I want to understand our products, alongside building strong relationships with customers. I’d like to personally upskill my understanding and knowledge in this industry.
The apprenticeship fits within work hours and is marked as ‘off-the-job,’ meaning work-life balance remains the same. Even though it may appear to initially take time out of the working day, the training will make us more efficient and give us the knowledge for the future. In turn, this will make us better salespeople, meaning that we’ll reap the benefits greatly in our career.
Joining the apprenticeship scheme is an amazing opportunity for those hoping to have a career in IT sales. I would tell any apprentices thinking of joining the scheme to take this chance to gain additional knowledge and training that they need to help transition into a sales role. This is the perfect foundation training to build up to a very strong career in the future.