Alexander Quang
Age: 22
Location: London
I started by taking the normal route; GCSE’s, A Levels. In the end I did pretty badly in my A levels so went to college to do a BTEC in ICT before heading off to uni. I ended up leaving university as I didn’t enjoy the course or the university. After that I trained as a Chef while I was volunteering. The volunteering was the best form of education for me, hands on and relevant to what I wanted to do! I’m currently applying for a Post-graduate Certificate in Community Organising too at Queen Mary University of London.
Have you ever been unemployed if so how long? If not how did you go about preventing this?
I was unemployed for about 3 months, but during that time I volunteered for a few different charities and made a lot of connections in the sector which ended up with me being offered an internship with a charity which worked with communities to tackle the issues that are important to them. Luckily I was mentored by an incredible community organiser.
How did you find out about the apprenticeship at O2 Think big? And how long have you been with O2 Think Big?
I actually applied for a business admin apprenticeship at O2 Think Big a while ago but didn’t get the job as they thought I’d be better as a youth work apprentice. When this one came up one of the charities that I volunteer with let me know about it before my current manager also emailed me about it! I’ve been here since November now and I honestly don’t think that I could have got here without the links I made volunteering!
What is your day like?
Busy! I interview a lot of people who want to run their own Think Big projects and liaise with 70+ youth partners. Luckily, it’s not all work. The team is amazing here and there’s never a day without a lot of laughs and spontaneous singing!
What do you love about your apprenticeship?
I think the thing that I love the most about my apprenticeship is that I feel like I’m really contributing to other young people’s work experience and futures. Not just by providing funding, but also the continued support that I can give them throughout their projects.
Would you recommend an apprenticeship to young people?
If you’re hands on, and prefer learning by doing then absolutely! It’s opened a lot of doors for me and I’m sure it has for thousands of others too. It’s a great way to break in to a sector and get your name heard!
