One marketer on how an apprenticeship took her all the way to the top
Michelle D’vaz-Plant kicked off her marketing career as an apprentice at Harrods aged just 16. Now head of marketing at the London Designer Outlet, she wants the next generation of apprentices to give the industry a much-needed shake-up.
“I’ve never been somebody who likes to sit in front of a text book and learn through theory,” explains Michelle D’vaz-Plant, head of marketing at the London Designer Outlet.
“I just want to apply real life experiences and that is the way I learn. That works better for me. I think it differs for different people and that choice is very important.”
D’vaz-Plant was adamant from the beginning that she wanted to go in her own direction, a route which has led her to high profile marketing roles with brands from Harrods to Jessops.
“I don’t think university, as a word, was ever described to me or explained to me, at any time whilst I was at school,” she explains. “Nobody in my family had gone to university. I grew up never really knowing what a degree entailed or what university was. It was never explained to me. It was this thing that existed that I never thought was an option.”
Log in or subscribe to read the full article.
