Student profile: Aimi Bellinger

Aimi’s route into higher education is an interesting one. She has come to us as an apprentice from BMW, Oxford.

Having studied successfully for a Business Advanced GNVQ at the Oxford College of Further Education, Aimi applied through UCAS for a place at university. She had set her heart on going to a local university and was disappointed when she did not receive an offer from Oxford Brookes. So, despite receiving offers from other universities, she decided to reconsider her options.

She decided to try for an apprenticeship. This involved writing to BMW, filling in an application form and doing some tests. BMW responded by offering Aimi the chance of a three-year apprenticeship and when her adviser at Oxford College described it as a “one in a million chance”, Aimi decided to forget university and to enter the world of work.

Normally an apprenticeship with BMW involves doing a GNVQ or another college-based qualification, but as Aimi already had her GNVQ they suggested she do a degree course. As the apprenticeships are subject based, BMW makes the decision on which course their apprentices should study. For Aimi, as she is based in the Human Resource (HR) Department, BMW chose to sponsor her to attend Oxford Brookes University on the Business and Management course.

Aimi is choosing HR modules from the course so that she can link the things she does at work to some of her projects. She has been lucky enough to be able to move round the various HR functions at BMW, including non-manufacturing personnel, and she has also been based in different departments, enabling her to get a real feel for how the business works.

When asked about the differences between studying at college and university Aimi said, “Deadlines for assignments at college were more flexible and I found it difficult to adjust to the fact that they’re much stricter about handing in work on time at Brookes. You also have to analyse everything and put your own opinions about things. The study skills workshops on referencing, analysing and evaluating were really useful as I didn’t have any idea on how to do those things.” She doesn’t feel there’s too much of a difference between studying at college and university as “at college you’re left to your own devices – not like school – and here it’s all about independent learning.”

She likes being able to choose which modules to take and sometimes opts for those that are marked on 100% coursework. On-line learning through Oxford Brookes WebCT has also proved a valuable tool for Aimi, providing notes and tests for all the modules as well as links to other websites. She also uses the databases off campus. She says that her tutors always respond to her emails so she doesn’t have to come on site, and they use BMW for examples in lectures because they know she is working there and it helps makes things relevant.

The balance between working and studying is “not too bad” says Aimi. “My weekends and evenings are free and I probably would have had to find a part-time job anyway to see me through university.”

Looking to the future, Aimi wants to continue in HR. She can do a one-year placement through BMW, called final objective training, which aims to help get people jobs. Her advice to others is “If it’s available, I would definitely recommend the apprenticeship route. It’s definitely an option for people who think they can’t afford university.”

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