Uptree

In sixth form René studies business, media and sports and in September René will be joining Coca-Cola Europacific Partners as a Sales Associate Apprentice.

“My school told us all to sign up for Uptree, so everyone at my school signed up for it. I saw it as an opportunity to explore different routes and it was really helpful. I went to a few events like Publicis [Groupe], WTW and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It was very helpful as it made me have a much better idea of the sectors I might want to do an apprenticeship in. It definitely helped me be more aware of apprenticeships. The different pathways and the different job industries.”

René attended multiple work experience events with Uptree, providing a better idea of career options and industry sectors.

“Attending the work experience really helped me have a better idea of what career I want to go down. I went to some other events and had different feelings for each event. Looking on the outside I thought a lot of the apprenticeships looked great, however let’s say I got the apprenticeship in that company, I might not have liked it. But because I got the opportunity to go there beforehand and see the environment of the workplace, you can kind of save yourself a lot of time and trouble just by quickly going to events or workshops.

Some of the events also helped with applying for apprenticeships and applying for jobs in general and also employability skills.”

Before attending a Coca-Cola Europacific Partners event with Uptree René had never really considered them as a potential employer.

“I saw the work experience title on Uptree, I looked at the description, it looked very interesting so I applied for it with my friends. The moment I got in I really liked the atmosphere of the workplace, I liked their values and it seemed like a very nice work culture and a very nice place to work.”

Attending the event changed René’s perception of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and made the company more appealing as a potential employer.

“As soon as I got there I knew this was the apprenticeship I wanted. During the work experience I had the feeling of ‘this will probably be the only one I would really go to’.”

René’s advice to other young people is to explore all opportunities, have faith and don’t get discouraged if things don’t go your way.

“I would say to explore all opportunities you have. Also to have faith and keep going because persistence is very important, especially with anything you do in life. So do not get discouraged. I know that applying to apprenticeships is getting harder these days so it can be really discouraging if things aren't going your way. Keep going, and have faith. I’m a Christian so I put my faith in Jesus and God’s plan for my life.

I would say to explore and really research. So for example, if you are interested in a specific industry, I would research and find out as much as you can about that industry. Maybe see the perks of each industry and if salary is important to you, you could see how much the highest paid person in that industry gets and just see the progression in that industry as well. See how long it takes for people to progress to the highest level of that industry and the rewards.”