Faces behind the frog: Mitch Purnell

As part of our 'Faces behind the frog' blog post series, we talk to Mitch about life as an Area Manager and why he decided to work for Unifrog.

Why did you decide to work for Unifrog?

When I first researched Unifrog, I was drawn to the idea of working for a social enterprise with a product that I could be genuinely passionate about. Then I saw Unifrog's apprenticeship content and search tool in action, which completely sealed the deal! When I dropped out of college, I spent weeks trying to search for, and get my head around, apprenticeships. Something I hear a lot is ‘I wish this existed when I was in school’, which is exactly what I was thinking when I decided to work for Unifrog!

Describe your role

My main priority is making sure my amazing partners in the South West utilise all that Unifrog has to offer; not only with platform usage, but also by taking full advantage of our wider network. There really is no such thing as a standard day or week. I run staff trainings, strategy meetings, best-practice CPDs, conference talks/workshops and network meetings. Essentially, I do whatever is required to make sure staff are supported in providing students with the very best careers education, across the South West.

A lot of miles, a few too many fast food restaurants (for the free Wi-Fi) and plenty of work, but I love it.

What's the best thing about working with teachers?

The best thing has to be when you mention something that sparks their interest and sends them off on a passion-fuelled rant. No matter how tired they may be at the end of a long working day, one trigger conversation shows just how passionate they are about what they do, and why they do it. Plus, they’re super competitive if chocolate is on the line!

Please tell us two truths and one lie about yourself.

I represented Bristol in the UK Junior Tiddlywinks Championships 2002 and came a very respectable 3rd place.

I hit my peak of stardom at the age of 12, when I directed an award-winning series of short films based on climate change.

I had chicken pox 3 times as a child, much to the disbelief of my local GP.

You can take a look at all our other staff profiles over on the Unifrog contact page.