Hello. I’m Abigail and I’m the Emerging Talent Co-ordinator Apprentice here at The AA. I’m taking an Apprenticeship in Business Admin at Level 3. I have to say that I had no idea what ‘Emerging Talent’ was before I started working here but I work with people who are joining an Apprenticeship programme, sometimes as new recruits but often as progression for existing staff members.

My job can be quite project-based, which I enjoy. For National Apprenticeship Week last year, for example, I was writing daily blog posts, coordinating events and I even got to have some mugs made especially for it! I also run our ‘Inspiring Young Minds’ project with Brighton Hill School here in Basingstoke. We invite groups of pupils in; I give them a talk about The AA and a tour, and then we get other specialists to talk about specific employability skills. I had never even set foot in an office until I started working in one, so I think it really helps if people have the opportunity to visit one.

No two days are the same. I get insight into lots of different parts of the business; recruitment, procurement, selecting the right training provider for our courses, and I work closely with the learning and development team.

How did I get here? That’s a good question and it’s certainly not what I thought I’d be doing if you’d asked me a couple of years ago. At school, actually, I wanted to do Clinical Psychology because I am fascinated by the human mind and mental health problems; I really wanted to help people. I picked my A Levels based on the idea of studying this: Biology, Psychology and Philosophy, Religion & Ethics.

However, at college, I realised that Biology didn’t really suit me. Psychology is such a broad subject, too, half of the lessons were subjects that interested me, and the rest weren’t. It helped me realise that perhaps it wouldn’t be the right Uni course for me, especially if I had to pay for it. It takes a long time to become a Clinical Psychologist and I wouldn’t be giving myself the best chance to succeed if I didn’t enjoy some of the topics.

About The AA

Did you know The AA is the oldest and largest breakdown organisation in the UK? And it’s one of our most trusted brands.

The Automobile Association (now known as The AA) was formed by a group of motoring enthusiasts on 29 June 1905. They wanted to champion motorists – in particular, to help drivers avoid police speed traps. Back in those early days, The AA was responsible for putting up the first road signs and establishing the first roadside petrol stations. It had 1 million members by the early 1950s and by the 1980s was England’s largest insurance broker. It was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2014.

Today, they are the UK’s largest breakdown cover organisation. As their strapline says, “anything can happen” and so they have developed a range of other services and products to keep their customers prepared. These include car insurance, maps, travel guides, campsite guides, home insurance, savings accounts, apps and home emergency breakdown cover.

The Basingstoke head office is one of six AA offices across the country and about 750 staff work there. You can see the building prominent on the Basingstoke skyline. There is even a viewing gallery on the 18th floor that lets you see for miles. Rumour has it you can even see The Shard in London on a really clear day!

It was a scary decision to give up on plans I had for years. Comments from teachers like “You’re too clever not to go to University” made me really cross and more determined. I had never really thought of what I could do instead so I decided to focus on my exams, get the best grades I could and see what options opened up at the end of it. I was pleased with my results, particularly as I had struggled to engage with some of the subject content.

After college, I felt ready to start work, but I was interested in getting a job that would bring me a work relevant qualification too. As I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, I visited the Find an Apprenticeship website and looked through all the Apprenticeships you can do. I settled on Business as I thought it would keep doors open for me to specialise in future if I want to. Using the alerts function, I was getting regular emails on new Apprenticeships, but I actually found The AA Apprenticeship on the Indeed website. I applied and got a call from The AA. They set up an interview and I was offered the job on the same day!

I’m so glad I did an Apprenticeship; I’m getting money, experience and opportunities. I would really like to get the opportunity to do a business or management degree apprenticeship in the future. For me, this was definitely the best choice. It’s really helped my confidence and my soft skills; I feel like I’m so different now than I was before I started here thanks to my apprenticeship – in a really good way!

An Apprenticeship is great as your employer knows you don’t know anything when you start, but will give you a push to develop yourself; given the choice, I wouldn’t do presentations but I know I have to and so they have helped my confidence. I’m even a Young Apprenticeship Ambassador now and go into schools to talk about my experiences.

Where will my Apprenticeship take me? I’m getting the opportunity to spend some more time with our training team and to get a feel for what other teams here do. I’m lucky that my manager is so supportive and wants me to stay with The AA after I’ve finished my Apprenticeship. I would say I probably don’t really know where my career will take me, but I’m getting lots of opportunities here to see what my options might be. And, in my experience, things often have a habit of working out for the best.