Broadcast: News items

Apprenticeships can play a powerful role in supporting professional growth, confidence and career development alongside demanding roles. In this interview, Dr Faith Matcham, Associate Professor in Psychology, reflects on how completing a data-focused apprenticeship has strengthened her technical skills, reshaped her approach to research, teaching and consultancy, and opened up new possibilities in her work in digital mental health.

Dr Faith Matcham, Associate Professor in Psychology, reflects on completing her Data Analyst, Level: 4 apprenticeship.

In what ways has the apprenticeship had a lasting impact on your role, responsibilities, or career progression?

The apprenticeship has genuinely shaped the way I work day to day. It’s added a real technical edge to my role; I now take on more of the analytical work in projects, and I feel much more confident helping colleagues think through methodological choices. It’s also changed how I supervise students; I’m now able to guide them through more complex datasets without feeling like I’m “winging it.”

It’s also made a big difference to my consultancy work. The data‑visualisation skills I picked up have been really useful in terms of how I'm describing data to clients via visualisations. Internally, I’ve been able to help colleagues by mapping out marking workloads and student assessment patterns so we can make more informed decisions about how we deliver the curriculum. Learning the basics of machine learning has probably been one of the most transformative parts. It’s opened up a whole new set of possibilities for my research, and it’s broadened the range of funders I now feel confident applying to. Overall, the apprenticeship hasn’t just added skills — it’s widened what I feel capable of taking on and nudged my career in a direction that feels both exciting and sustainable.

What do you think has had the biggest long-term benefit: the qualification itself, the skills, or the confidence — and why?

For me, the skills are definitely the foundation — but the confidence has had the biggest long‑term impact. The qualification itself is important because it formally recognises what I can do, but the real change has been feeling genuinely capable of applying those skills in real projects and supporting others to do the same.

What surprised me, though, was how much I gained from simply being back in a learner position again. Having to sit with uncertainty, tackle new concepts from scratch, take on feedback, and complete exams and coursework — all of that reminded me what it’s like to be on the other side of the learning process. It pushed me to build resilience and trust in my ability to learn things that initially felt completely outside my comfort zone.

That experience has stayed with me. It’s made me far more confident not only in my technical skills, but in my ability to navigate unfamiliar territory — which is something I now draw on constantly in my academic, research, and consultancy work.

What advice would you give to someone about to start an apprenticeship alongside a busy role?

My biggest piece of advice is to protect regular learning time, even if it’s in tiny blocks. It’s much easier to stay on top of things when you build it into your routine. Also, be really clear with your manager from the start about what support you’ll need — that honesty makes a huge difference later on.

And honestly, don’t aim for perfection. Steady, manageable progress adds up quickly, and you’ll surprise yourself with how much you retain.

One thing I’d add is: don’t be put off if some parts of the apprenticeship don’t seem immediately relevant to your role. That’s completely normal. Be creative about how you apply what you’re learning — sometimes the most unexpected modules end up sparking ideas or influencing your work in ways you don’t see straight away. I found that staying open‑minded made the whole experience more valuable and much more enjoyable.

What helped you stay motivated through the more challenging parts of the programme?

Honestly, what kept me motivated during the tougher parts of the programme was keeping sight of the bigger picture. I kept reminding myself why I’d signed up in the first place — that these skills were directly tied to the kind of work I want to be doing long‑term in digital mental health. That really helped when I hit a wall with a concept or felt overwhelmed by deadlines.

Little wins also made a huge difference. Noticing that my code was running more smoothly, or that I could troubleshoot something on my own that would’ve completely confused me a few months earlier, gave me that “okay, this is working” feeling. Those small steps added up and kept me going.

And applying what I was learning to real projects was incredibly motivating. Whenever I could use a new technique on a dataset I actually cared about, it made the learning feel meaningful rather than abstract. It reminded me that this wasn’t just coursework — it was building skills I could use straight away, both in research and consultancy.

A lot of it also came down to self‑kindness and patience. Some parts were genuinely hard, and I had to accept that feeling stuck or slow didn’t mean I wasn’t capable — it just meant I was learning. Being able to hold onto that perspective definitely helped me push through the challenging bits.

If you could only keep five possessions, what would they be and why?

Assuming that my family and friends are safe in whatever catastrophic event means I need to only keep 5 possessions, I think I would keep the following:

1. A kindle (plus charger). Unlimited access to almost every book would definitely be needed to keep me sane!

2. Yorkshire teabags and mug (these are a pair). This speaks for itself. Survival depends on morale.

3. A really good notebook and pen. Somewhere to think clearly, plan, scribble ideas, and process whatever chaos I’ve ended up in. I still find pen-and-paper thinking irreplaceable.

4. A warm, ridiculously comfortable blanket. Practical, comforting, and essential if the “catastrophic event” is even slightly apocalyptic or just… British weather.

5. My glasses/contact lenses. Without them, I’m basically a liability. Keeping them feels like a solid investment in my own survival (and everyone else’s).

Faith’s experience highlights how staff apprenticeships can go far beyond gaining a qualification. By building advanced technical capability, confidence in learning, and the resilience to tackle unfamiliar challenges, her apprenticeship has had a lasting impact across research, teaching and consultancy. Her journey is a compelling example of how structured, work-based learning can broaden horizons and support sustainable, exciting career pathways at Sussex. staffapprenticeships@sussex.ac.uk