Louis James - apprenticeship case study

I joined Invotra at 17 years old  in July 2019 as the first and youngest Technical Sales Apprentice, a first in sales apprenticeships for both myself and Invotra. Upon joining I had little to no technical  knowledge at all and had no form of IT background. Before joining I was at Woking College studying 2 subjects, BTEC double sport and BTEC Law, but I really did not enjoy my year at college and was looking for something more. I wanted to earn and learn on an apprenticeship, so I decided to drop out of the college after my first year to take the apprenticeship path.

While in college I was working in a gym and was quite familiar with the fitness industry so I initially thought this would be my best bet as an apprenticeship. This didn’t work out as I was unsuccessful finding a suitable apprenticeship in fitness. I decided to look into the automotive industry mechanics but after trialling at Jaguar, Land Rover I decided that the car trade was not for me.

I thought I had hit a wall with no options left until I saw that Invotra were looking for a new Sales apprentice. After looking into Invotra and seeing how much they pride themselves on apprentices I thought I had to apply. At college I discovered that my learning style was not classroom based nor exam based, and that is one of the reasons why I decided to apply for apprenticeship. Another great thing with an apprenticeship is the ability to learn and earn, this allows you to be taught your trade and be paid while you are doing it.

Due to the fact  over half the Invotra workforce have been apprentices themselves there is an incredibly helpful atmosphere and everyone is really supportive as they themselves have been in that same boat before. They’re full of knowledge and are willing to help you every step of the way.

One of my main goals is to make the most of my opportunity with Invotra, to grow and develop my skills and knowledge professionally personally and to grow with Invotra.