I’m Toby in Year 11 and when I finish my GCSEs this summer, I’ll be starting a Greenkeeping Apprenticeship at Carswell Golf Club. I start on 1^st July - I want to get started as soon as I can!

I have always played golf and loved it, so have always known that I wanted a job related to it. When I was at the end of Year 9, my grandad asked at the golf club if they needed any help. They said yes and I started working there on Saturdays and during the school holidays. I also did my work experience there when I was in Year 10.

Working part time and doing work experience there meant that I proved myself to be hard working, dedicated and showed them that I really want to work there, so they offered me an Apprenticeship! They’ve had a couple of Apprentices before who didn’t really enjoy it, so when they offered it to me they already knew that I did!

I’ll be going there with experience already behind me, which makes it much easier to start a new job. I know how to do lots of things already but there will be new things to learn too, so I know I will carry on learning and developing what I already know.

I’ll be going to Abingdon & Witney College Common Leys campus in Witney for the learning part of my Apprenticeship. I’m looking forward to going to college as I will be learning more things relating to my job and what I love doing.

I will only be going there on block release for 2 weeks in October/November and again in February/March, so I’ll still be spending most of my time at work. Most of my learning and assessment will be on the job, not in the classroom. The college had an open day which I went to look around and familiarise myself with the college, which really helped me know what to expect when I go there.

I will be joining a team of 3 people working as greenkeepers, so it’s a small team and I already know them having worked there in my spare time. There’s a new Head Greenkeeper who wants to make improvements to the course, so it’s an exciting time to be starting work there to be part of that.

My top tips...

• If you know what you want to do, do it! It’s easy to work hard when you’re doing something you love.
• Get as much experience as you can – it will prove to an employer that you really want to do it! It will also help you feel more confident when you start in the world of work.