National Apprenticeship Week 2024
Get ready for National Apprenticeship Week 2024, coming this February!
Arguably the biggest week in the apprenticeship calendar, National Apprenticeship Week 2024 (NAW2024) will run from Monday 5 February until Sunday 11 February.
What is National Apprenticeship Week?
National Apprenticeship Week brings together businesses and apprentices across the country to celebrate the achievements of apprentices and the positive impact they make to communities, businesses, and the wider economy.
The theme for this year’s NAW is ‘Skills for Life’, reflecting on how apprenticeships can help individuals develop the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career and employers to develop a workforce with future ready skills.
Why is it important to us at Equans?
Here at Equans, we are huge advocates for apprentice opportunities, with a long history of successfully employing apprentices and following national programmes of study to make sure they gain the support, experience and materials needed to progress in their roles and far into the future.
This year we want to shine a light on National Apprenticeship Week and use it as an opportunity to show off a few of our brilliant, hard working apprentices based at Equans North East Lincolnshire.
Equans Apprentices
Get to know some of our apprentices…
We spoke to a few of Equans’ current and former apprentices about their experiences, how it has helped them within their roles and if they would recommend an apprenticeship to others.
Sam Brown
Sam Brown joined the Security Team 6 years ago, as their first ever security apprentice, in February 2018 after deciding he wanted to begin a career in the security industry.
Sam had a passion for learning more about the security field and his love for dogs meant working alongside them was a non-negotiable in his career hunt and made this specific apprenticeship the perfect route for him. Through his apprenticeship, Sam received hands on experience allowing him to become more confident in his ability to deal with difficult encounters and learn from his fellow team members who had been in the industry for 15 to 20 years.
Sam finished his apprenticeship in September 2019 and got offered a job on the team as a Mobile Patrol Officer. He has been part of the security team ever since, working alongside our security dogs for several years and watching the dog department grow significantly. He has since secured a job as a Security and Civil Enforcement Advisor with us.
On his experience, Sam commented, “The apprenticeship gave me a full overview of how security worked, and I was able to see many things I never would have in a standard role.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time as an apprentice and I’m very grateful for the knowledge and experience that I gained. I believe doing an apprenticeship gave me the necessary skills I needed to take on my current role and I would certainly suggest it to others who want to follow the same path.”
Tai Kearns
Tai Kearns joined Equans in September 2023 as an Apprentice Building Services Engineer in the Professional Services Team.
Tai always had an interest in the way things work and what goes on behind the scenes which led to his curiosity for engineering and goal to pursue a career in the industry. However, Tai didn’t want to continue full time education which made the ‘learn while you earn’ appeal of an apprenticeship perfect for him.
Tai’s role has laid the groundwork for his career in engineering, his current responsibilities include, assisting with projects that involve the electrical and mechanical side of engineering such as, keeping an eye on the newly installed fire detection system at the Fishing Heritage Centre and reporting faults back to the contractors. Alongside this, he also gets involved in investigating sites with plumbing/electrical faults and a plethora of other areas within the industry.
Tai commented, “This role has been the perfect beginning to the career in engineering that I aspire to build for myself. It has been great to have the opportunity to partake in hands on electrical and mechanical experience which has proven helpful in my professional growth and even in certain aspects of my personal life. Engineering is so broad and there is something for everyone, I would really recommend a career in the engineering industry to others.”
Izzy Greenard
Izzy Greenard, Marketing and Communications Apprentice, began her journey with us back in September 2022 after the realisation that college wasn’t for her and that learning on the job was much more suited.
Izzy wanted to pursue a career that involved both graphic design and writing aspects which made marketing and communications the perfect role for her.
Having experienced a plethora of things from press release writing to creating newsletters, arranging photoshoots, executing social media campaigns and much more, it’s safe to say Izzy has come a long way since starting with us nearly a year and a half ago as a shy newbie who didn’t know much at all about marketing or communications!
Izzy is now coming to the end of her apprenticeship. This is what she had to say about her experience so far, “Although I’m very excited that my apprenticeship is only a couple of months away from finishing, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as an apprentice and it’s something that I’ll definitely consider doing again in the future in order to learn further skills and knowledge.
"I have been given endless opportunities throughout the last year and experienced a range of different things that have taught me skills which I now use daily and will take with me as I progress in my marketing and communications career.”