With a desire to gain real responsibility after leaving school, Ryan Coram turned down top university offers to pursue a degree apprenticeship with biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca
In just under two years, Ryan has become an award-winning apprentice working on global projects, specialising in architecture and technology. He has also met the CEO to share ideas for the expansion of the company’s apprenticeship offer.
Gaining real responsibilities
Ryan was a strong student set to attend university to study social sciences, receiving offers from York and Chester. However, he was keen to start work and gain independence straight away, and soon realised that full time higher education wasn’t the right choice. After hearing about AstraZeneca’s Digital & Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship at school, he applied straight away.
“I wanted to stand on my own two feet and have real responsibility, but without university debt,” Ryan explains. “AstraZeneca encouraged me to apply despite the fact I didn’t have IT, Business or Science A-levels. I knew I wanted to be there just by being in their building.”
After overcoming a tough recruitment process including interviews, presentations and group activities, Ryan was accepted and started in August 2016. By August 2019, Ryan will have graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a Bachelor of Science in Digital Technology Solutions and, alongside his degree, will have built up four years of valuable industry experience.
Delivering global projects
His first two years at AstraZeneca comprised of four six-month rotations in different departments, with four days in the office and one day at university each week. Ryan’s responsibilities have ranged from monitoring the successful delivery of numerous projects as part of the finance team, to becoming a training lead and global delivery manager for the business’s Smart IT system, helping to implement the programme in countries such as Japan, Mexico, Dubai and the US. He has found the variation really stimulating: “You’ve got real freedom to explore different departments and AstraZeneca try to match your interests as closely as possible.”
Ryan found the transition to full-time work a steep learning curve but enjoyed the challenge and fast-paced nature of the role, quickly finding his rhythm and relishing more resp