Ria's journey in the education sector
Ria Horsford, 35, is a Teaching Assistant at Alexander Mcleod primary school in South East London. We sat down with Ria as she reflects on her time as an apprentice with Inspire ATA.
What drew Ria to the apprenticeship route is her desire to work in education “I was looking for a way back into education and was looking into completing a teaching degree and wanted experience working within a school before I went for it” she explained.
The experience an apprenticeship route provides was invaluable for Ria, saying that “The hands-on experience for a role you want or a role similar to is the best kind of experience in my opinion.”
Working in education can be a rewarding career path for many, especially when working with younger children. Ria expressed that the best part of her role is working with the children “seeing them learn and grow”. Aside from that Ria enjoys working with her coworkers on the job “the teachers and staff are amazing at what they do, and they really care” she shared.
Inspire ATA offers support and advice to all its apprentices, ensuring that their placement goes as smoothly as possible. Ria said “I’m able to call or email my tutor and ask questions about the work whenever I need, nothing seems too much or too little to ask about. Someone is at the end of the phone, letting you know they are there all the time.”
An apprenticeship path allows you to gain skills for life that go beyond their main field of study. “I’m learning good time management skills. I also gaining confidence in my knowledge and I'm even able to share some of that knowledge by helping other apprentices that have started after as well” Ria said.
Ria is looking to take the experience, knowledge, and skills she has gained through her apprenticeship and move forward with a career in education. Looking to the future she said “I would like to continue on into employment with the school, and then look more into completing my teachers degree”.
We wish you all the best in your future career, Ria!
Hear more from Ria about her experiance:
Discover more about the different education pathways apprenticeships offer.
If you would like to begin your career journey, explore our apprenticeships.
