Yasemin Sunbal, 19, from Blackburn, joined Openreach as an apprentice in 2014 after she left school at 16.
She started in the planning of the underground and overhead network which involves the positioning of the green boxes you see on our streets.
In 2016 she received the accolade of ‘Apprentice of the year’ within the company.
After three years of learning a variety of skills and gaining wide on the job experience, Yasemin moved into a management role, making her one of the youngest Openreach managers.
Talking about why she chose an apprenticeship, Yasemin said: “I thought about going to university but I wanted to learn new skills and earn at the same time.
“Apprenticeships offer a variety of new skills and you gain loads of experience which helps your career in whichever direction you may wish to go.
“I found job shadowing very useful and the ability to extend your network. Also for a young person at the start of their career, there are great opportunities to grow in confidence, ask questions and gain feedback.”
Yasemin explained what she likes most about her current role as a planning and design team manager, helping with the roll out of the fibre broadband network: “I love being able to help and see people achieve their full potential and also I love how much opportunity there is within the company to progress your career!”
