Dawud Kazam
Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprentice, Koderly
FROM ASPIRATION TO ACHIEVEMENT: DAWUD KAZAM’S DEGREE APPRENTICESHIP STORY
Meet Dawud Kazam, a Digital and Technology Solutions Professional Degree Apprentice currently employed at Koderly. He made the decision to pursue an apprenticeship, aiming to blend the best of both worlds – gaining professional experience while continuing his education. His journey began by attending the ‘Aspire, Apply, Achieve’ workshop, where he acquired valuable insights into the application process and, as a result successfully secured an apprenticeship. Now, with a year of hands-on experience as an apprentice, Dawud shares with us the highlights of his journey so far.
Choosing a degree apprenticeship
I first found out about degree apprenticeships through the Manchester Met website while I was looking for alternative career routes post-college. I had heard of apprenticeships through my sister who was completing a Level 4 apprenticeship at the time, but I wasn’t aware of degree apprenticeships.
After some research, I found that degree apprenticeships were the ideal route for me to take, I had the opportunity to pursue a degree at the same time as getting industry experience – all with none of the debt usually attached to a traditional university course.
The application process
At the beginning, the application process seemed daunting as I had not been through a highly competitive application process before, but after attending both the online and in-person Aspire, Apply, Achieve sessions, I had built up confidence in my interview skills.
My application process ended with me securing a job with Koderly, and in the last year, I have developed a thorough understanding of web development and database management.
Real-world experience
I found that the first year of university was beneficial in bringing all my fellow apprentices up to the same level of understanding of programming and helped to further my understanding of business processes and systems which benefited me in my role.
The degree apprenticeship has helped me to understand how a business actually works. When I was in high school and college, I was working on programming projects with no understanding of how a product would get deployed to a customer, or what the process is for a customer to purchase a product or request changes for a product.
My time at Koderly has taught me the principles of client communication and the processes that a business would follow from a request coming in from a client all the way to the requested changes being deployed.
If your goal is to progress your career as much as possible, learn key concepts at the same time, and all the while be making money, then the apprenticeship route is for you.
The programme has also provided me with opportunities to develop my soft skills, by inviting me to become an Apprenticeship Champion. This has allowed me to talk to various people, ranging from teachers and career advisors to Parliamentary members from the Department for Education, about the benefits of apprenticeships and my experience as a degree apprentice at Manchester Met.
Support received throughout the apprenticeship
I have received constant support from both Manchester Met and Koderly. A common problem that apprentices feel is difficulty establishing a work-life balance, which I find is helped by my day release to attend university for lectures, as it allows me to socialise with people I don’t usually see.
My workplace has helped me to establish a good work-life balance by helping me to develop a routine that allows me to fully disconnect from work at the end of each day.
The University also has a support network, in the form of skills coaches, that you can turn to in case you need help with any problems you may be having, both personal and apprenticeship-related.