Basingstoke apprentice chosen as face of new Mayor of London campaign (From This is Hampshire)

Basingstoke apprentice chosen as face of new Mayor of London campaign

9:11am Friday 15th March 2013 in News By Emily Roberts, Chief Reporter

A TALENTED Basingstoke student is set to become a familiar face to millions of people.

Nathan Patience was chosen to be the face of an apprenticeship campaign, launched by the Mayor of London, after securing an apprenticeship with Channel 4’s 4Creative.

His face will be splashed around London as part of Boris Johnson’s drive to increase the number of apprenticeships. But the 21-year-old is also hoping to raise awareness of apprenticeships in Basingstoke during National Apprenticeship Week, after struggling to find a position in his home town.

The former Queen Mary’s College student, from Lychpit, decided university was not right for him, and worked in retail instead for two years to earn some money and figure out what he wanted to do.

He said: “In that time, I was constantly trying to find design- based apprenticeships close to home. There are plenty of agencies in and around Basingstoke, but all those that were advertising job opportunities were looking for experienced designers with a large array of skills.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t match these requirements. Therefore, I was stuck as to what I could do next.”

Nathan heard about Channel 4’s apprenticeship scheme on Twitter, applied, got the job and, since June last year, has been travelling to London to work for 4Creative – an in-house advertising agency responsible for producing and directing various content for Channel 4, Film4 E4 and More4.

He designed the billboard advert for 4 on Demand’s Black Mirror television drama, which appeared in prominent locations including London Waterloo. He said: “I have done ad campaigns and have been given more responsibility as I progress. The idea is that they are providing me with the skills to get a full time job either there or elsewhere at the end of the year. The only downside is that it might not be permanent.”

At the end of his apprenticeship, Nathan will not only have learned practical skills that are vital to securing a job as a designer, but he will also have a creative and digital national vocational qualification. He added: “Hopefully, independent companies in the Basingstoke area will recognise the work I have done and take into account that employing an apprentice could prove to be hugely beneficial to them.”