Our last full day at Ghyll Head kicked off with a trip up to a rather daunting rock face, followed by a camera crew. The camera crew were with us throughout the day, capturing the activities we took part in, so that footage of the day can be used in a video about the apprenticeship scheme.

Our abseil down the rock climbing wall the day before came in handy, when we were faced with the challenge of abseiling down about twenty five meters of rock, followed by a further twenty five metres of abseiling without anything to brace our feet on before we reached the ground. Attached to safety ropes, we took it in turns to try and avoid the temptation of looking down while we descended! Liam even wore a camera on his helmet, to capture the experience from a first person perspective.

The abseil was much more nerve-wracking than getting down the climbing wall the day before had been, the worst part being at the very top, where you have to convince yourselves to lean back over the edge of what would be a very long fall, and trust that your ropes won’t let that happen! Another contender for the scariest part of the abseil was the moment were the rock face ended, and you had to step off the wall, and continue to lower yourself to the ground with nothing to brace your feet on.

Once we reached the bottom, we were faced with a short journey through dark tunnels in order to get back to the path that would lead us back up to where the rest of the group were, awaiting their turn. We did have to keep our fingers crossed we’d chosen the right direction through the tunnel however, so that we didn’t have to turn back and try again, as one of the paths lead to a locked gate that we wouldn’t be able to get past.

In the afternoon, we put all the team building we’d done over the past few days to good use when we went Ghyll Scrambling. A ghyll is another name for a stream, hence the name of the place we were staying, which was located at the head of a stream, ‘Ghyll Head’. We helped each other to climb through a rocky stream, and even up some small waterfalls, trusting each other to not let us slip on the rocks, or get knocked over by the current of the freezing cold water.

By the time we’d finished, wearing waterproof clothing seemed to have been pointless as most people were soaked after walking underneath one of the waterfalls, as well as falling back (voluntarily!) into a pool of water. Simbiat once again showed amazing determination and fell backwards into the water despite being unable to swim. The last challenge we faced, before getting warm and dry and heading back for tea, was jumping into another pool of water. Similarly to the Jetty Jump, the water we jumped into was freezing, and a few people waited next to the pool to help people get back out once they’d jumped.

By this point in the week everyone was exhausted, and after we’d got back and eaten, most people ended up spending the evening sleeping! We did all manage to find time to pack however, as we were leaving at lunchtime the next day, meaning we only had one activity left at Ghyll head. I’ll talk about that next time, along with answering some questions that have been asked about whether team building activities such as our week at Ghyll head are useful, and a good idea for the future (although you might be able to tell already where most of the apprentices stand on that topic!)

The second day of our trip to Ghyll head started out rather rainy, which ultimately made little impact on our day, as even if the weather had been any better we’d have still ended the day drenched.

After breakfast, we headed down to the lake in our waterproofs and put on buoyancy vests ready for a day of canoeing. We used wooden planks and rope to tie two of the canoes together, creating a raft that six people could use, and the rest of the group got into pairs, each of which used an individual canoe.

The people at the front of the canoes had to use their oars to propel them forward, whilst the people at the back had to use their oar to steer the boat, paddling normally to keep the boat travelling in a straight line, and using it as a rudder when they needed to turn the canoe around. Team work was definitely required as without the person at the front continuing to row, the person at the back couldn’t effectively steer the boat, and when you feel like you’re going in the wrong direction, it’s easy to feel as though you should stop rowing until the canoes been turned around.

We travelled roughly 7km across the lake to Bowness, stopping at a couple of spots to change between being at the front of the canoe, and at the back. We also stopped so that people who wanted to could switch places with Mike, who was using a kayak.  Once we got to Bowness, we ate our packed lunches and had a wander around, before getting ready for the journey back.

On the way back some people switched between the raft, and the individual canoes. The second half of the journey was quite eventful, with Polly and Jake managing to fall into the water. They weren’t the only ones to end up in the lake however, as once we got back and put away the boats, most of us voluntarily jumped in for a ‘Jetty Jump’ followed by a freezing cold swim back to dry land. Simbiat really challenged herself, daring to do the jump despite not being able to swim!

I am really proud of myself for attempting every challenge as they were quite nerve-wrecking. I really felt we all bonded well as a team, and it was nice to be in a different environment.

– Simbiat Sanni, Laboratory Technician Apprentice

After all that rowing, everyone was ready for a rest, but instead once we’d dried off we found ourselves being led to the climbing wall, where we all had a go at both climbing one side of the wall, and abseiling down the other side. The abseil ended up being a practice session of sorts, for what we’d end up doing the next day.

In the evening, we took a taxi back down to Bowness (a much less tiring method of transport, although not nearly as fun) for a curry, which was definitely a well deserved break from the tiring activities, and a nice chance for us all to relax and have a chat about what we’d learnt in the first two days, and prepare for what the end of the trip would throw at us, which I’ll talk more about next time!

All 11 of the EPS Technical Apprentices have successfully navigated their way through the first 6 months of training and education and passed the first assessment point.

They will now continue their journey with the University of Manchester……..Congratulations to all.

The website for the EPS Apprentices has now been launched.

The site contains a wealth of information about the apprentice programme, including details of how to apply, multimedia content, information about the initial cohort of eleven apprentices, a full FAQ, and much more.

You can visit the site here: EPS Apprentices

“Ghyll head has been an opportunity to challenge myself at tasks which I would not normally face. Through the communication and cooperation with others, I have succeeded in learning new skills in teamwork, which can be translated into everyday work.”

– Rosie Byrne, Laboratory Technician Apprentice

As Colin mentioned, a couple of weeks ago the TAP apprentices, along with a few members of staff from Manchester University, set off to Ghyll Head in the Lake District, for a week of team building, memories of which will no doubt stay with us for years to come, along with the skills we developed during our time there.

The trip was a chance not only to develop our team work skills, but also for the two groups of apprentices to get to know each other better. In the first few months of our apprenticeship, the Laboratory Technician Apprentices have had opportunities to work together, and attend college together one day a week, and the Mechanical apprentices have attended college together full-time, but both groups spending a week together meant we had the opportunities to share our experiences and talk about how our time at the university has been so far.

When we arrived at Ghyll Head, we were greeted by Sally Ozanne, who is not only a fantastic outdoor instructor who made sure we all got the most out of our experiences throughout the week and pushed ourselves to take on new challenges, but is also an impressive sportswoman who had just returned from Turkey where she won the European Adventure Racing Championship. After we’d had some lunch, and made our beds (a task which proved far more challenging for some than others!) we started on our first team building challenges.

We certainly didn’t drop the ball when it came to getting all eleven of us through a hoola hoop in the space of eleven seconds, which certainly took some cooperation, or racing to touch tiles numbered one to thirty in under a minute (the catch being that only one of us at a time could enter the circle that contained the numbered tiles). The same can’t quite be said for the exercise that included actual throwing and catching, although fortunately the golf ball didn’t go flying off in the wrong direction too many times, and everyone did at least remember each others name successfully which was the point of the task. We proved that we were capable of working together, and throughout the rest of the week we expanded on that, and had to actively use our abilities to cooperate to a much greater degree, in more ‘real’ situations.

The next activities we took part in involved climbing, so after we collected our harnesses and helmets we got ourselves into groups of three and mentally prepared ourselves for the heights. The first climb was up a pole, with a platform at the top, which three people (or even four if you’re daring!) can stand on at a time. Once three of us were up there, we had to put our trust in each other and hold elbows or wrists, and lean backwards. This particular task caused a fair few falls – safety ropes being held by the rest of the group meant that we weren’t in any danger of course – the first of which might have involved me (an embarrassing, albeit amusing moment).

One thing that Sally talked to us about with regards to our week at Ghyll head was ‘comfort zones’ and ‘stretch zones’. If you push yourself to do things outside of your comfort zone (in your ‘stretch zone’) the things that scare you become easier to accomplish next time around. We all pushed ourselves to do things outside of our comfort zone throughout the week, but we were all particularly proud of Josh Major, one of the Mechanical apprentices, who managed to climb to the top of the pole despite his fear of heights.

The second climb didn’t involve ropes or harnesses – or footholds! We had to work together as a team to get all of us over a dauntingly high wall, a task which I initially thought was impossible for me to accomplish. I was proved wrong however, and by working together we managed to get everyone over the wall (Rosie unceremoniously being almost thrown over, but I think she’s forgiven us).

After a break for dinner, we put on our walking books and got ready for our final challenge of the day. We were split into two teams, Team Apple and Team Banana, and given maps and pictures outlining a route we had to take to make our way back to the oak tree we started at. We were also given radios that we had to use to keep Sally informed of when we reached certain checkpoints, and in Team Banana’s case, to report the presence of a particularly threatening herd of sheep. Thankfully they made a daring escape from the sheep attack, and we all managed to make it back without getting lost, and take in a lovely view of Lake Windermere, before heading back to the bungalow for a well-earned rest to prepare us for day two!

I’ll talk about day two next week, but in the mean time, Sue Field suggested a caption competition, so feel free to let us know in the comments what you think the caption for the photo below should be!

The University has been eerily quiet recently and here’s the reason why.
Our first cohort of Technical Apprentices are enjoying a few days away, team building in the Lake District.
I’m sure many photos will follow, but here’s one to be going on with.

Last summer I found myself asking a question that most people, if not everyone, ask themselves multiple times throughout their life.

“What am I going to do next?”

Particularly for young people, there are daunting decisions to be made about the future and what the next step in life is going to be in their education, or for some young people, their career. Working full time, and studying full time both have their benefits, and it can be difficult to figure out which direction is best. Learning about a subject you’re passionate about can be fun and rewarding, opening up a wider range of job opportunities, but similarly the experience and skills gained from a full time job are invaluable, and for a lot of positions, experience and work skills are just as essential as the right qualifications.

The conclusion I came to, was that I wanted the next step I took to be about both my education, and my career. I was ready to be gaining practical skills and experience, but didn’t want to give up on the chance to continue gaining qualifications, and learning more about the subjects that interested me. With a little research and guidance I came across the national apprenticeship website.

After searching through the areas that interested me, namely science and laboratory work, I filled out an application alongside around 100 other applicants, for an apprenticeship at the University of Manchester, a decision which would ultimately change the course of my future.

So what is an apprenticeship?

An apprenticeship is essentially an alternative to the decision between working, and gaining further qualifications. You get paid to work, and gain practical experience, whilst at the same time studying towards further qualifications.

You are fully supported by your workplace whilst gaining these qualifications, and the most common structure for an apprenticeship is four days a week at work, and one day a week dedicated to studying at a college, although there can be variations to this structure.

For example, EPS TAP laboratory technician apprentices attend college one day a week, whereas the EPS TAP mechanical apprentices are employed by the University of Manchester, but for the first few months are at college full time gaining the skills they need to start working at the university.

Hold up, what’s EPS TAP?

You might remember me mentioning that it was an application to the University of Manchester that changed the path I was on? EPS stands for Engineering and Physical Sciences, one of the faculties within the University of Manchester, and TAP is the Technical Apprenticeship Programme. It’s a programme that offers young people in the local area an opportunity to work for the university whilst gaining level 2 or level 3 qualifications, studying at Trafford College.

There are two different types of apprenticeships currently available, mechanical and laboratory technician. Both apprenticeships offer unique opportunities to gain experience working throughout many of the schools within the EPS faculty.

Moving throughout the different schools opens up opportunities to learn about the different types of work available, and allows us to decide what direction we want to go in after our first two years working with the university, after which we’ll be able to decide what area of EPS we would like to continue our apprenticeship in.

Six months into our apprenticeships at the University, we’ve all already had the chance to experience different areas of work, and had many opportunities to develop our skills including training courses outside of our work at Trafford College, not to mention the team building trip to the Lake District we’ll be attending next week, along with other members of staff.

There are many aspects of our first few months at the University that the other apprentices and I are eager to talk about; as I’m sure there’ll be many more as our time at the University continues. I there’s anything in particular you’d like hear us talk about, let us know.

To find out more about our apprentices take a look at this short article from the University of Manchester magazine.