Apprenticeships – are they worth the investment?
In my opinion, most definitely! Having started with the PCA back in 2018, my apprenticeship went from strength to strength. The PCA has helped over 80 apprentices and I class myself as one of them and am very proud of how my journey started and where I’m now at. I think my hard work definitely paid off and I hope everyone at the PCA feels the investment in me has paid off too.
It wasn’t easy, but…
I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t easy, and I think from other blogs I’ve read and testimonials I’ve seen and heard, nobody sees this as a walk in the park. For me, I knew that college wasn’t the right path, but I also knew I wanted to keep learning and earn money at the same time. After all, my driving lessons were looming and they weren’t going to pay for themselves.
Having passed my apprenticeship with a distinction, I was chuffed to bits to be offered a full-time job with the PCA. I loved working in the training team, talking to members and candidates and loved the responsibilities I was given. Knowing I wasn’t the first apprentice here too definitely helped my confidence and knowing that my employer sees the value and really invests in the apprenticeship programme, is a great feeling.
Not just for school leavers
Since passing my apprenticeship, a big part of my role now is assisting Jade with the apprenticeship programme. I meet and greet the apprentices on arrival at the PCA Training Centre and feel I’ve come full circle. I was once in their shoes and can totally empathise and understand how anxious and nervous they can sometimes feel.
What has surprised me though, is that they’re not all young and haven’t just finished school like I had. In fact, most of the apprentices on our programme are much older and have either had a career in preservation or waterproofing or are looking to/starting out in these sectors.
Support throughout my apprenticeship
The PCA gave me huge support throughout my apprenticeship, and if anyone out there is thinking of investing in their team, I would one hundred percent encourage you to consider it and to fully support them every step of the way.
With my teams’ support I have been able to adapt and flourish in my role. And if I look back, when online training became an option for learning and development at the PCA, I was given this responsibility and now I run them on a weekly basis. I have grown so much and my newfound confidence in managing and delivering online training, supporting the apprenticeship programme and all other areas of the training function as required really shows.
So, was that investment in me worth it? Well, I guess you’d have to ask the team…and I hope they’d say yes! I also feel we are able to show our apprentices and the companies they work for, that we are proof that an apprenticeship helps to retain staff because that is exactly what has happened to me and Jade!
Apprenticeships and the future
As I said earlier, the PCA continues to show how much they value apprenticeships and following in similar footsteps to both Jade and me we have another apprentice in the team!
Harry joined as our apprentice back in November 2021 and I have been able to support him and help guide him at times too. Particularly as he has started to step up and help with online training when we need him to. His confidence has grown massively which is great to see and I have my fingers crossed for him passing his apprenticeship with flying colours too. I hope that having read about my apprenticeship journey, you can see how valued and invested in I feel, which is why I’m still here 5 years later!
I know that the PCA has written about the aging workforce and growing skills gap, which is a problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. A magic wand really isn’t the solution, but perhaps an apprenticeship is….