{"id":11,"date":"2014-05-16T15:31:42","date_gmt":"2014-05-16T14:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/eps-apprentices\/?page_id=11"},"modified":"2014-05-19T10:50:18","modified_gmt":"2014-05-19T09:50:18","slug":"about-the-apprenticeship-programme","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/eps-apprentices\/about-the-apprenticeship-programme\/","title":{"rendered":"About the apprenticeship programme"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(l-r)
(l-r) Harry Chadwick, Scott Butterworth, Harris Maudsley, Joshua Major, Matthew Coffey, Jacob Skelly, Jake Cartwright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There can’t be many apprenticeships where you get to try out your employer\u2019s flight simulator – but that\u2019s exactly what happened to our young employees taken on under a new scheme set up at the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences. \u201cI landed perfectly but somehow fell off the edge,\u201d recalls Jasmine Fernley, one of 11 apprentices that make up the Faculty\u2019s first intake. The Faculty is expected to lose 25% of its technical staff to retirement in the next five years. The School of Physics and Astronomy alone could lose four people in three years and there\u2019s even a glass blower who produces the bespoke vessels needed in the School of Chemistry, who will one day pass on his unique baton. Back on the flight simulator, Roseanna Byrne \u201ccrashed\u201d and Simbiat Sanni was \u201cnowhere near the runway\u201d, but for Liam Baguley it was the highlight of his first four months in post. Hopefully the simulation of working at \u201cone of the top universities for science,\u201d as Liam put it, will be a much smoother ride with tangible and exciting results.<\/p>\n

Fulfilling career<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"(l-r)
(l-r) Jasmine Fernley, Liam Baguley, Simbiat Sanni and (sitting) Roseanna Byrne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All the apprentices were looking for a fulfilling career. They spotted the posts – advertised to local youngsters – on the National Apprenticeship Scheme website and, having landed the job, started work in October. Four of the apprentices, training to be lab technicians, work on campus four days a week and go to Trafford College one day a week. The remaining seven, training to be mechanical technicians, are working through several modules at the college before starting work on campus later this year. But all wear Faculty sweatshirts during their working hours; had an induction and came to the Faculty Christmas party – so they are in every sense members of staff. \u201cI have really enjoyed all the activities, setting up equipment, making different concentrations of chemicals, and going round the different Schools and seeing what they all do,\u201d Simbiat, 18, from New Moston, says. \u201cIt has been much easier than I thought getting to know the staff here,\u201d Jasmine, 20, from Ashton-under-Lyne, adds. \u201cThey are so friendly and helpful and accepting of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shining stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Liam
Liam Baguley at work in the lab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Colin Baines, Head of School Administration in the School of Physics and Astronomy, who set the scheme up with his technical managers network, is rightly proud of the scheme – and the apprentices and their mentors in the Faculty. \u201cI started the technical managers network so we could all discuss what was happening across the Faculty, down to what equipment was around, in our various Schools,\u201d Colin explains. \u201cThe apprentice scheme was borne out of that. We had apprenticeship schemes before but we didn\u2019t really take sufficient care of them – we would bring them in, they would go into one School and learn how to use one or two machines in a big machine shop, and that was it; they didn\u2019t move around the Schools or see what was happening in the rest of the University. \u201cThis scheme is different – we are taking the apprentices around the Faculty so they can see what the different Schools do in all areas of our business and we are making sure they are fully trained before we expect them to be a positive resource. \u201cI researched apprenticeships elsewhere, with visits to Bentley in Crewe and GE Energy in Kidsgrove, to see what worked best. \u201cWe\u2019re also very happy with Trafford College\u2019s input, who won the contract after getting a unanimous vote from the technical managers network. \u201cThe network has been key, they have been shining stars. We worked really hard to get this done, and to a tight schedule, because we really believed in it. \u201cWe had to make sure the whole Faculty had buy in – we needed that for it to succeed – and our staff have proved great mentors. \u201cI am very proud of the result.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buzzing campus<\/strong><\/p>\n

Colin started work as a technician at Jodrell Bank and spent 24 years there, working his way through the ranks, before taking a post on campus, and feels the apprentices reflect that career pathway. They have come to address a pressing need at the University and will have the hands-on, practical training that will make them a real asset to us. They in turn will come to work on a buzzing campus and enjoy a fulfilling career in a Faculty that boasts in excess of 20 Nobel Prize winners amongst its former and current staff in a world-leading institution. The flight simulator was only the start of it!<\/p>\n

\n

Reproduced from the February 2014 edition of the University of Manchester staff magazine, unilife<\/em>. Photography by Jason Lock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There can’t be many apprenticeships where you get to try out your employer\u2019s flight simulator – but that\u2019s exactly what happened to our young employees taken on under a new scheme set up at the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences. \u201cI landed perfectly but somehow fell off the edge,\u201d recalls Jasmine Fernley, one of … Continue reading About the apprenticeship programme<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P4DBz1-b","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/eps-apprentices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/eps-apprentices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/eps-apprentices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/eps-apprentices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/eps-apprentices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/eps-apprentices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/eps-apprentices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11\/revisions\/25"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/eps-apprentices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}