04/07/2020 - George's First Purple Birthday - 1 Year Web Development Apprenticeship Update! | Website Blog | Purple Creative Studio
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George's First Purple Birthday - 1 Year Web Development Apprenticeship Update!

It feels like it was just 5 minutes ago we were welcoming George to the team as an apprentice Web developer! From educating us on true Yorkshire slang to his constant humming while he works, today we're celebrating George's 1st Purple birthday, the first of many to come! Keep reading to hear what George has been up to so far.

It feels like only yesterday that I was preparing for my first day at Purple.

It is true what they say, time really does fly when you are having fun. That is the exact word I would use to summarise my first year at Purple, fun.

Sometimes I must remind myself that it is a job. It is not often that people are able to say they love going to work every day but I feel privileged and grateful that I can. Sometimes I must take a step back and appreciate the fact I am able to call this my job.

Where I Started

Prior to starting the Apprenticeship role with Purple, I was confused as to where my life was going. University was not working, and I had multiple Apprenticeship knock backs along the way. It was, in fact, a friend that sent me the Purple Job opportunity that was in the local paper. My first thought was that of excitement as it was a work opportunity in Richmond, close to my house up in Wensleydale. My second thought was worry - as I had no experience or knowledge of coding or Web Development. Not good when you are applying for a job in that industry!

So I began to teach myself through online sources, and have not stopped since. If someone were to tell me at the start of my Purple journey that I would be at a point now where I can understand code and have built multiple websites by this point, I would be extremely shocked.

I will never forget my first day at Purple, sitting with James and having him take me through the very basics of HTML and CSS coding language. I think I described it as the ‘Matrix’, which seemed an impossible task to learn.

Something that has played a part in my enjoyment during my first year at Purple has been the staff. Every single one of them has been excellent with me from the very first second I came in for my interview. Being kind is not a law, it is a choice and I consider myself so lucky that I get to work alongside some of the nicest people day in and day out. Even if I have somehow earned the nickname as the office ‘Gramps’! I  think it is something to do with the fact I complain about how expensive things are and reminisce of how music used to be better in the 60’s and 70’s.

Maybe that is why me and Phil get on so well.

What I’ve Been Up To


I think there is something incredibly heart-warming about helping businesses of all sizes and statures grow through the services we offer here at Purple. As I’m sure everyone at Purple will also agree, there is no feeling quite the same as starting a new project for a brand-new client. It is like when a painter has a blank canvas before he builds up to the final product.

Receiving the design mock-ups for a brand-new client’s site is an equally exciting moment, as you the developer are responsible for bringing to life a business’s vision that they have for their website.

In my spare time, I find myself looking at inspiration for designs and different UI (User Interface) ideas that I may be able to use on sites in the future. It is no lie that with Web Development there are always 100 different ways to do something and simply because you did not do it the same as someone else, does not make it wrong. But there is no harm in trying different techniques of carrying out the same tasks to develop your skills.

The thing with Programming is, no one person can know absolutely everything there is to know about Programming. The industry is forever changing and evolving. This excites me as with most cases of technology there are always going to be easier and more efficient ways of doing certain things that get developed in the future.

Like many people in the office, I have little spare time. However, when possible I dedicate my Friday afternoons to developing my knowledge on certain areas of Programming. I am always exploring different Computer Languages such as Javascript, C# and jQuery.

During an Apprenticeship you would expect to be learning daily, however, my learning will not end with the completion of my Apprenticeship, which is fantastic, as I find myself always hungry to learn and develop my skills as a Web Developer.

What’s Next


Although my Apprenticeship has not exactly gone the way I thought it would go, thanks to the big ‘C’ (Coronavirus). It is slowly coming to an end. I hope that in a year’s time I will be writing a ‘Second Year at Purple’ post and I have acquired my Level 3 Software Development Technician certificate to show for my hard work this year in my Apprenticeship.

I would like to continue to develop my skills as a Developer in the future and if this opens the door to further learning on other subjects within the world of Programming that would be something I would love to do.

 

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