Starting Again at 45 | by Jay Mitchell

The most impactful part of my school education was that I was wrong. My behaviour, my attitude and my work… I was just generally wrong. After leaving school in 1995 with more suspensions on my record than qualifications, I set out on my life avoiding formal education like the plague. This fear of formal learning has meant I never even got my driving license. 

So when an email arrived advertising the Data Literacy apprenticeship, I promptly ignored it. To my mind, an apprenticeship would be aimed at people born in a different millennium to me, and it could mean more of that classroom humiliation that I was in no hurry to volunteer for. However, data analysis had always been something that interested me, and I had taken on projects at work that meant sifting through piles of information very inefficiently. I mentioned this to my manager in passing, who politely told me that being scared of learning was not going to help me in any way and that this apprenticeship is not necessarily just for the younger end of the employee spectrum.

So, on the understanding that I would not be sat at the back of a classroom rolling cigarettes again, I applied for the apprenticeship. I had nothing to lose by giving it a go and made sure that I could drop out without penalty if it turned out to be what I wanted to avoid. When the email came through that I had been accepted onto the apprenticeship, it scared me more than the application form! 

I’m only in the first month of the apprenticeship yet, but the introduction has been excellent. It is very clear from the outset that this runs at your pace, and you can go over things when you want to without the embarrassment of asking someone to repeat themselves over and over. What also helps me is being able to use my new skills at work, seeing that there is actually a point to what I am learning.  At school, I wondered how likely was it that I would need to ask for orange juice in France or to use Pythagoras’ Theory (never used either). Having data skills also helps me to pick up extra projects at work keeping my work varied. These projects also get noticed by managers, it's not only the qualification that helps a career!

The coaches are great too, and bear no resemblance to the school teachers I remember from school thankfully! You get to meet with them one-on-one to discuss anything you find difficult or anything getting in your way. Just like the apprenticeship is nothing like school, the coaches are nothing like school teachers! 

The essential point here is that I have spent 30 years being terrified of formal education with no need at all. Being older and hopefully wiser means the behavioural issues from school aren’t there, and we are learning skills that employers want. It's at a pace that we set ourselves, which allows us to take the time that we need to get our heads around new topics. Age is no barrier to this, in fact, perhaps it is helpful to have a little more experience, as we’ve had more time to pick up little bits of knowledge. If you feel like formal education is not for you, avoid going back to school by all means, but don’t avoid learning!

Jay Mitchell is a Data Literacy apprentice at Multiverse.