Interview:

“I’m doing things I never dreamed of doing”

Written by Jamie Oliver Tuesday 14 May 2024
Naomi Ogundiran had to rethink her life after not getting the school grades she wanted. Today she's halfway through a Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship with tech giant Amazon – and getting "unimaginable" opportunities.
Naomi Ogundiran

“You only regret the chances you don’t take in life, that’s what I think.”

So says Naomi Ogundiran, who is halfway through a Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA), which she is taking at the University of Exeter while working for Amazon.

She is now a passionate advocate for the CMDA – but just two years ago, an apprenticeship wasn’t even a path she expected to be on.

“[At school] I didn’t get the GCSE grades I wanted or expected,” she says. “I was planning a career in media, finance or economics, but then I had to rethink. My dad suggested that I look into taking a degree apprenticeship. His advice was to read about it and think about it. So I did.

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