Alessio Pesci

Alessio is one of Newcastle College University Centre's first Creative Digital Design Professional Apprentices
and has secured a permanent role with his apprenticeship employer Amazon. Find out more about his passion for design and his apprenticeship experience with the University Centre.

Why did you choose to study an apprenticeship degree?

At the time, the main reason was for a career change.

I had previously studied a Foundation Degree in Fine Art at St Martins College and really enjoyed it; design is something that I’ve always been interested in but unfortunately I couldn’t afford to continue onto the full degree.

I ended up working in hospitality for around five years. I was good at it, but it wasn’t something I wanted to do long term. When Covid hit, I thought it was probably the right time to get back into design if I wanted to do it.

After some online research I found two possible paths; pursue freelance work, working for free and hoping for the best, or pursue an apprenticeship.

The more I looked into apprenticeships, particularly the ones with a degree attached, the more I realised they would not only allow me to get the experience but the degree as well. I thought it was a great opportunity.

What support did you get from Newcastle College University Centre?

Once I had the apprenticeship confirmed with Amazon, Newcastle College University Centre reached out to me to explain exactly what would happen with enrolling onto the degree side and talked me through what was essentially an onboarding process.

The degree was all done remotely online but the tutors were really supportive and I think the whole class would agree with that. We felt really welcomed and really calm, and I feel that support was always there throughout.

The tutors were always really there, really supportive for us, which was great as we were the first cohort of this degree, it had never been ran before.

I am super interested in how people interact with design and I was very vocal about that with the tutors and told them I was happy the course was covering that topic and so they said, let's explore it more. So it was really cool to know that they were listening to us as a class and actually teaching us what we want to know.

How have the skills you gained at Newcastle College University Centre helped you in your professional career?

The course really allowed us to explore certain tools and software, and then we would have a larger project that would allow us to utilise everything we’d learned. That was really enjoyable for me and I always tried to keep my projects in line with my work at Amazon.

Through certain projects we were given the opportunity to work as groups on projects and briefs that essentially would happen in a corporate environment anyway. So, I think that really helped me as an individual working for a company like Amazon.

I would say the soft skills I’ve learned as well the technical skills have impacted me massively. I've really built my confidence as an individual working in a corporate environment as well as a designer as well.

Since finishing my apprenticeship, I’ve been offered a permanent role with Amazon as a brand designer.

What advice would you give to anyone considering studying an apprenticeship at Newcastle College University Centre?

I’d 100% recommend an apprenticeship with Newcastle College University Centre.