THE BBC Scotland Commonwealth Games Apprenticeship scheme has just entered its third year and in the week the latest ten candidates start for 2013-14, one of last year’s intake, Cairi Swainson, writes about her ‘media day’.
Cairi has just secured a Modern Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media at level 3 from the scheme, which is run by BBC Scotland, John Wheatley College and Skillset Scotland.
She submitted this on September 6.
What exactly is it that you do?
That’s a question I have been asking myself for years, after moving from job to job. And now I am finally able to answer it! I am pleased to say I figured this out over the past 12 months when I worked as a BBC Scotland Apprentice. As the apprenticeship ended, I was offered a contract as a researcher for CBBC and CBeebies. Here, I get stuck into everything I can; looking up old footage and pictures, finding props and storyboarding. I even found myself on a stage, singing, at one point!
What did your working day today or yesterday comprise?
The last few days I have been helping to answer viewer’s questions. We get hundreds of letters from children and, over the course of the production, a real library builds up. It’s interesting, and sometimes difficult, thinking of the way things work and then finding a creative way of explaining it so that a four or five year-old might understand.
How different or similar is your average working day to when you started?
When I started I knew nothing about media and was just an exceptionally enthusiastic seat warmer. Over the past 12 months, the ratio of ‘things I don’t know’ to ‘things I do know’ has moved slightly more in my favour; however, I’ve still got a lot to learn.
How do you see your job evolving?
Considering how far, and how fast, everything has evolved so far, I really don’t know. I started off vetting calls and photocopying, before quickly moving forward to standing in the rain with a huge, slobbering Dogue du Bordeaux and then getting an article published by BBC News. I’m not sure what’s around the corner but I have a massive list of things I want to do… now I just have to find out how to make it happen.
What gives you the most job satisfaction?
I had the most surreal moment a few weeks ago standing in the lift rocketing to the fourth floor. All of a sudden, I realised that I was helping to make a programme that people would watch, and hopefully enjoy and talk about. I’m not entirely sure what I thought I was doing before that point in time but, in that instant, I had an overwhelming sense of contentment.
