RGU offers Graduate Apprenticeship (GA) courses designed around the needs of businesses which allow employees to continue to work while they earn their degree over the course of four years.
Last year, we spoke to Emma McGowan, Hire Administrator at STR, as she started her first year on the Business Management GA at RGU. Now about to begin her second year, she shares how her experience has differed from her initial expectations, the support she received from RGU and her employer, and what she is now looking forward to.
How did the expectations you had entering Year 1 align with the reality?
When I started the course, I anticipated to find the balance between work, home and study really difficult as I wasn’t sure what kind of workload the course was going to entail. I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly I adapted to the new routine and found ways to get into a new flow.
Once I had established a solid routine, including a weekly work and study calendar, it made it much easier to juggle the commitments of both the GA and my role at STR.
I expected that given my time away from school/education, I would struggle with the academic writing elements of the course. However, I soon realised the support available from RGU with academic writing is in abundance and after the first assessment, Business Environment, I felt confident that I knew what was expected of me and where to access these resources should I ever need them.
I also thought the pace of learning to be difficult to keep up with but each module followed a structured and engaging template which I felt was well paced for the workload. The topics in each module flowed naturally into the next and provided good opportunity for extended learning throughout the use of the work-based learning activities.
How has your employer, STR, supported you?
The support from STR has been great. My line manager and colleagues have been very understanding of my study commitments and assignment deadlines which has made the course a whole lot easier to juggle with work.
STR have given me a dedicated study day allowing me to plan and schedule my time dependant on how I feel I need to use it based on upcoming deadlines or activities.
The company has allowed me access to various aspects of the business which has helped me to complete my assessments with real life scenarios to feed into them. This has allowed me to see the topics I’ve been learning applied to the workplace, making my learning much more practical and relevant.
What were your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
The main challenge I found was finding a new routine which was going to work for me. My line manager and I sat down and discussed various options and figured that having a dedicated day from home was going to best support my studies to allow me maximum focus out with the busy office environment.
During periods where my uni deadlines and work priorities overlapped, I sometimes found it was difficult to coordinate. However, with the help of STR, we were always able to make it work and find solutions to redistribute workload within my team and re prioritise work tasks where possible.
I made use of the quieter times in the office to dedicate extra time to studying, which helped me to stay on top.
Overall thoughts on your first-year experience as a GA student?
My experience has been nothing but positive so far and has flown past so quickly. I have developed a newfound confidence within myself and my role, as well as a better understanding of how my learning directly links to the day-to-day work at STR.
I believe if I had gone down the “traditional” university route, I might have not had the same experience or ability to apply my knowledge in practice.
The experience has been incredibly rewarding so far, giving me a strong foundation to build on and ultimately confirmed for me that the GA path was the right one for me.
What are you most looking forward to from the second year of the course?
I am most looking forward to a range of new topics and building more on what I have learnt so far. The more I learn, the more responsibility and insight I have been able to take on at STR, so I am looking forward to seeing where that will take me in the next year ahead.
I can already see the direct impact of what I’m learning feeding into my role, and I am excited to continue applying new knowledge to new scenarios and projects as I progress on the course.
Emma McGowan
A word from Vikki Johnson, Finance Director at STR
From a business perspective, we’ve been incredibly pleased with how well Emma has embraced the Graduate Apprenticeship (GA) programme. She has demonstrated real commitment to balancing the demands of her role with her studies, and it’s been clear from early on that she is determined to make the most of the opportunity.
As an organisation, we’ve worked to ensure Emma is supported throughout the course. This includes providing a dedicated study day, flexibility around key academic deadlines, and access to different areas of the business to help her apply her learning in practical, meaningful ways. In return, we’ve seen Emma grow in confidence and capability, benefiting her personal development.
The GA model has been a valuable addition to our talent development strategy. It allows us to build skills within the business in a way that is directly aligned to our operational needs, while also investing in our people. Emma’s experience so far has confirmed that this is a worthwhile route for developing future talent within the company.
We’re looking forward to continuing to support her in Year 2 and seeing how she continues to grow in her role and contribute to the business.
Related Blogs
My experience studying a Business Management Graduate Apprenticeship at RGU
My experience on RGU’s first Graduate Apprenticeship in Business Management
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