Today marks the start of National Apprenticeship Week 2022 and this year’s theme is Build the Future; reflecting on how apprenticeships can help individuals to develop the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career, and businesses to develop a talented workforce that is equipped with future-ready skills. 

At MechTronic we have recruited several apprentices over the years who have continued to progress through the company. 

Apprenticeships bring exiting opportunities

Our Commercial Director, Brad, initially started working at MechTronic as a Mechanical and Engineering Apprentice some 13 years ago. Through hard work and dedication, he continued with his studies alongside work, gaining valuable knowledge and experience on the job and developing his career, until he became Commercial Director recently. 

Ben, our Work’s Coordinator, also started as a Mechanical and Engineering Apprentice 13 years ago. Since then, Ben has worked across the business, developing his skills to now manage the production team, a critical element of his role is ensuring that schedules and deliveries are met. 

Ryan Parr, our Development, Implementation and Training Engineer also started as a Mechanical and Engineering Apprentice some 14 years ago. Since then he has developed his career within production as a fitter before moving to the service team as a technical support engineer. After several years, Ryan was promoted to run the service department before taking on his current role within the Engineering team. 

Ryan said: “I really enjoy my work and have met some great people over the years. I have developed a broad skill set over the years and I am now able to pass that knowledge on and help engineer products that will benefit our customers.” 

How are we working with apprentices now?

Courtney has been with MechTronic just over two and a half years now and works within our production team. Originally employed as an apprentice, Courtney has now completed her studies and has been promoted to Production Engineer – apprenticeships offer real opportunities and at MechTronic, we are delighted to be able to invest in people who want to develop their skills and grow with us. Courtney said: “I enjoy working within an engineering environment. Every day is different, one day I can be building an OptiMate system and the next, an AddTank!”   

Just recently, we have employed Jordan as a Mechanical and Engineering Apprentice. Ben Wilkie, Work’s Coordinator said: “Jordan has been with us since the start of the year now and is settling in well. He will spend most of his time, onsite and gaining a thorough understanding of how we work and supporting us in manufacturing our kits. As part of his apprenticeship, he will also be extending his learning with a day at college each week too. 

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Jordan, with real career progression within MechTronic.” 

We asked Jordan to tell us how he has settled into his role, he said: “I am learning lots of new skills and I am really enjoying the mechanical side of the role. Already, I have been working with the team to build manlids, flanges and building kits, ready for dispatch to the tank builders.” 

At MechTronic we are proud of all our apprentices and the work they have done over the years since joining us. We hope that by sharing some of their experiences it will encourage other young people to think about undertaking an apprenticeship or other employers to invest in young people and help them to build their future.