What is it really like to be an apprentice? | Our apprentices tell all
This National Apprenticeship Week, many students who are deciding between an apprenticeship or further education may be wondering ‘what is it like to be an apprentice’?
We spoke to a selection of our apprentices at Morson Projects, each of whom are doing very different job roles from business and administration to engineering, to get their first hand experiences of an apprenticeship.
It was revealing that each apprentices journey was so different, with one apprentice going onto a quantity surveying degree from her business administration apprenticeship.
Hannah Worden, Business Administration Apprentice
My name is Hannah Worden, I work for the commercial team at Morson Projects. I’ve been on a business administration apprenticeship. In September I also started a quantity surveying degree alongside my apprenticeship which will take me 5 years. I chose to do an apprenticeship as I knew I’d be able to work and earn while training. Morson Projects have supported me all the way, helping me progress within my career.
I like the thought of doing learning more about the background of my current job role, which is why I’m doing the QS degree as that is what my role will be transitioning into.
The best part of my job is the friendship and social side. I also feel extremely valued and I’ve been recognised higher up as I won Young Achiever of the Year in 2017. I’ve also been nominated by Salford City College for Apprentice of the Year, which is really nice.
Lewis Stamper, Engineering Apprentice at Ematics
My name is Lewis Stamper, I worked in the power department for the first part of my apprenticeship and then moved over to the Ematics department where I’ve been doing SCADA software engineering.
The reason I chose an apprenticeship is that I like learning on the job rather than just looking at a text book, it means that I can apply my knowledge to real life.
A standard day for me is, when I come in we have a 9am meeting where we share where we’re up to from the day before and organise what we’re going to do for the rest of the day. I’m involved with team coordination at the moment, making sure that we’re all on task and know what we need to get done for the day.
Amy Brett, Business Administration Apprentice
I’m Amy Brett and I work for the commercial team where I’ve been doing a Level 2 business admin apprenticeship, I’ll be going onto Level 3 this year. My work is payroll and general admin so on Monday and Tuesday I’m really busy. I help Hannah out with admin assistance and she helps me check through certain work. Lewis sends me his timesheets, which are never on time!
I chose to do an apprenticeship with Morson Projects as it’s a family oriented business and I’d heard good things and since I came here I’ve been looked after and been welcomed. Before I came to Morson I used to go to attend Eccles College and they told me about the business. They suggested I went for an apprenticeship at Morson Projects because I didn’t enjoy going to college at the time.
Sophie Williams, Hannah and Amy’s manager describes the working relationship between the apprentices:
They work really well together, they are all willing to help each other. It’s really nice to see them get along inside and outside of work.
Morson are champions of apprenticeships, we believe they are a fantastic way to both get young people into employment and help professionals transition into new careers. Read more about our pledge to maintain a minimum of 5% of our workforce enrolled in apprenticeship schemes across our business.
