We asked members of our team to share their own career stories. Honest reflections on the twists, turning points, confidence dips, and moments of growth that shaped their expertise. Because behind every qualification delivered and every programme designed at BMS Progress are people who have built their capability over time. Through experience, learning, and deliberate development.
"My first job was working as a sales executive, after applying for dozens when I finished my education. Little did I know that it would turn into a job I thoroughly enjoyed!
My biggest development area was confidence - this is relevant for all my roles, as each pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I entered my first managerial role at the age of 21, then began a degree apprenticeship after deciding years previously that I wasn't academic enough to achieve this - later achieving a 2:1 and Chartered Management Status! From here, I joined BMS Progress in the sales department, then finally, I moved into an operations role, which has given me my biggest confidence boost to date, due to the natural alignment of the role with my working preferences and skills.
My most significant experience was completing my apprenticeship - forgive the cliche given the industry that I work in, but it is genuinely the most important chapter in my career. The development of my confidence and self-belief from this cannot be understated. I believe that I changed and developed significantly from completing the apprenticeship.
Looking at my current role, where I manage our enrolment, I credit my capability to two factors. First is the team I have around me. A lot of what I know is from speaking to my team, receiving guidance, training and support - I work with an incredibly knowledgeable and passionate team, and it would be impossible not to develop working within the team that I have. Secondly is my own personal interest in the industry I work in. I absolutely love that I am a cog in a machine that helps people achieve career goals and dreams. By doing my job, I'm enabling people to progress, upskill, identify new pathways and develop themselves both professionally and personally. Because I have experienced firsthand the benefit of undertaking an apprenticeship, I passionately wish to enable people to do the same, and it offers me a great deal of job satisfaction, which in turn, motivates me to learn, upskill and stay attuned to the market and industry.
There is nothing wrong with not knowing what your career is going to look like in the future. But whatever you do, don't stand still. You don't know what opportunities might be presented to you in the future, so make sure you expose yourself to as many learning opportunities as you can. Build your confidence, skillset and competencies - when an unexpected opportunity comes up, you'll be ready for it when others aren't!
A quote that I love from Mel Robins is "confidence is built through the willingness to try." If you don't try, how do you expect to build on your experience?"
"I’ve had quite a wild career journey, but I wouldn’t change a thing. 16-year-old me had a very clear plan: I was set on becoming a forensic psychologist. And for years I held onto that dream, because once you’ve declared your dream job as a teenager, you’re supposed to chase that no matter what, right? I completed my A-Levels, went on to study psychology at university, and fully intended to progress onto a master’s degree and build my career in that field. I’d always been quite 'academic'; however, not everything went according to plan.
I was rejected from my chosen MSc programme, so my bullet-proof plan fell apart, and I felt like a deer in headlights. I took on a retail job, quickly climbing the ranks into management, and 3 years flew by. Keeping my blinkers on though, I later secured a role as a probation officer, which had once been my “dream job". While the work was meaningful and important, I quickly realised that it didn’t align with my strengths or the way I wanted to work long term. That was a scary realisation, because what do you do when the thing you’ve been chasing for years turns out not to be your thing at all?
That experience was a turning point. It forced me to reflect not just on what I was qualified to do, but on what genuinely energised me.
From there, I moved into marketing. Not at all because it had always been the plan, but because it sparked my curiosity. I started completely self-taught, I showed up, I pushed myself, and over time, my responsibilities expanded.
A key part of my development has been continuing to invest in learning. Working at BMS Progress, surrounded by apprenticeship programmes and stories of professional growth, reignited my interest in education. That is why I enrolled on the Level 4 Marketing Executive apprenticeship. I never thought I’d go back to education after getting my degree, but after doing a bit of a career 180, being able to learn and get a qualification whilst still doing the job I love just makes sense.
Today, my area of expertise sits right at the intersection of strategy and creativity. Interestingly, my background in psychology has never been wasted. It shapes how I approach my campaigns, how I think about our learners' and clients' motivations, and how I craft messaging that connects on a human level. What once felt like a completely different path has become a foundation for the work I do today.
If there is one insight I have learned, it is this: you don’t always “find” your passion, you need to build it.
Careers are rarely linear, and initial plans aren’t always concrete. Progress often comes from following curiosity, committing to development, and being willing to adapt when something no longer aligns with who you want to be.
Looking back, my career may not resemble the plan I created at 16. But it reflects something much more valuable to me: growth, self-awareness, and a commitment to ongoing development - principles that shape how I work and how we support others every day at BMS Progress."
"When I left school, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. All that I did know is that I enjoyed learning and was passionate about making the world a better place. So, I went to university to train to become a primary school teacher! Having never taught before, I was thrown in the deep end, suddenly in front of 30 nine-year-olds who really don’t want to learn how to work out the perimeter of a triangle! But the opportunity to learn by doing and the feedback from peers and tutors was the most valuable part of my entire degree.
After graduating, I went into supply teaching, which again was great exposure to different scenarios and challenges which really built my resilience and confidence when dealing with change. Towards the end of the school year, I was offered a teaching assistant position, which was a great opportunity to take the next step in career development. It also meant I was in an environment with regular training and mentoring, meaning I was developing my professional skills beyond completing my degree.
After a complete change of heart, I then entered the world of recruitment, which is completely different from teaching, but at the core, it allowed me to fulfil my love of working with people. The biggest thing I took from this role was how much my confidence grew. Confidence when speaking to new people, confidence in managing myself and my time and, most importantly, confidence in my ability and ability to do well, something that I took with me beyond this role.
Ultimately, my love of learning and working with people led me to my role today, Compliance and Assessment Coordinator. I get to combine my two passions into the world of apprenticeships and supporting our learners along the way. I was completely new to the industry and my role in compliance, so it was a huge learning curve for me. However, with the time, trust and continuous mentoring that BMS Progress provides, I have been able to make continuous improvements to my capability, knowledge and understanding of the role beyond even those first few weeks!
It can be daunting to ‘start again’ when looking at a potential career switch, and I’m not going to pretend that it’s easy! But I believe you should follow your passions and do what makes you happy. Embrace the challenges, learning opportunities and development that your career will provide because ultimately, it may lead you to a role that doesn’t give you the Sunday scaries!"
"With regards to full-time work, my first role straight from university was working in primary schools as a sports coach, teaching PE across KS 1 & 2. I always thought that I wanted to be a PE teacher, I had a natural ability for sport and found the theory of human biology and exercise pretty interesting.
I was always expecting a 2:1 at university as I wasn’t particularly academic, and practical application was always my favoured way of assessment, so when I came out with a 1st this made me believe I could do anything, so I started to apply for graduate opportunities and fell into finance recruitment where I was introduced into the reality of sales (cold calling, targets and KPIs) and for the first time in my life I stepped out of my comfort zone of education.
I soon found that I could apply a lot of the soft skills from sport such as leadership, proactivity, tenacity and competitiveness in a sales environment and hit the ground running and did do pretty well for myself, but I knew that I needed to be in a environment where I could bring all aspects of my career together so far.
I applied for a role as an assistant area manager for a lettings company that specialised in using schools as leisure centres out of hours. I was 21 and managing 60+ staff across 8 sites, and I absolutely excelled in this, winning manager of the year and becoming second in command to my regional manager.
In this role I learnt a lot, from how to appear the expert in the room and show a level of confidence, to how deal with everchanging situations and adapt, but I also came across a lot of misogyny and this enabled me to become resilient and even more determined to prove that a young woman could not only do the role but excel at the opportunity.
The other role within my career that sticks with me as a key development opportunity was when I went back into BDM work and started to sell behaviour training and deliver the training.
Today, my role has evolved, and I have stepped away from sales but now coach and train aspiring salespeople, which enables me to pass on my experiences and knowledge to the next generation. In work, I am known for creating bespoke experiences for my learners and ensuring that content aligns with their world. I think having the varied experience I have had lets me really step into their shoes and understand their world as, one way or another, I have lived it, and I can give practical strategies on getting the best out of situations. I think my resilience, transparency and tenacity show up in mywork; I never step down from a challenge.
When it comes to building a career, you need to work hard, show up and prove yourself to those around you. My principle is be yourself and show those around you why you deserve to be here."
There’s no single formula for building a career. As these stories show, progression doesn’t always follow a straight line… but growth is never accidental. It comes from staying open to learning, pushing yourself, and continuing to refine your craft.
That belief shapes how we work at BMS Progress. We don’t see development as a one-off milestone or a certificate at the end of a programme. We see it as something ongoing. Something that strengthens confidence, deepens expertise, and creates meaningful, lasting progression.
And that’s exactly why we care so deeply about creating environments where people can keep building, long after National Careers Week is over.
Looking to tackle a business challenge? Develop and evolve employees? Enhance performance across the board? Find out more about our sales training and manager coaching courses.
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