During National Apprenticeship Week, Level 2 Engineering students had guest speaker, William Bridgman from Warren Services talk about their futures.
Warren Services was founded in 1990, proud of their record of providing high quality manufacture of components and mechanical/ electrical sub-assemblies to agreed schedules, offering turnkey solutions in engineering and design.
Warren Services work very closely with local schools and colleges, supporting learners with their work placements. William’s father, Richard Bridgman, skills champion and founder of Thetford engineering business Warren Services, was awarded an OBE for services to the training of young people in the 2018 Queens Birthday Honour list.
William Bridgman, Chairman of Warren Services said:
“Students are our future, it’s important for the students to be proactive and search for work placements or apprenticeships. Our company has employed a large number of apprentices and work placements that have trained with us. Warren Services want to help young people in finding jobs and supporting them throughout. It was great to meet the students and inspire them with their career goals.”
Nathan, a level 2 engineering student has expressed how doing his work placement has helped him secure a job in the industry helping him gain more skills. Nathan said:
“Currently on a level 2 engineering course, alongside my course I had to complete work experience. 60 hours needed to be completed and I successfully completed this. As I’ve did extremely well on work placement this has given me the skills and knowledge of working in the engineering environment. The company then offered me part-time employment. During my time at the employer, I have gained hands on experience and this helps me towards my qualification.”
Student, James Kavaney said:
“I found the talk very informative and useful. I now feel more confident on what steps to take in securing a placement in Engineering.”
Jayne Hicks, Work placement & Careers Co-ordinator said:
“Not only does this benefit the students, but also the employer. We have had many success stories of students being employed part-time on completion of their work experience. An apprenticeship is a long-term commitment, so finding the right candidate is crucial, work experience could be the answer. Employers then invest in an apprenticeship for the student, once their qualification is achieved. This has worked particularly well as a ‘try before you buy’, if you are considering having an apprentice in your company, then having students in to complete work experience could be part of the interview process.”
If you are interested in coming in and talking to the students about work placements and recruiting students, then please contact Jayne Hicks via email at:
To find out more about our Engineering courses then please go to: https://cwa.ac.uk/courses/engineering-and-motor-vehicle.