Mechanical Apprentice

Why did you choose to apply for a Thames Water apprenticeship?

From secondary school I knew I wanted to do an apprenticeship, with the idea of doing a degree apprenticeship, which meant going to college and completing A-levels which I also knew I wanted to do. However, while at college it wasn’t as enjoyable I as I originally thought it would be. And I found it was far harder than I thought and I ran into a few struggles along the way and had to fight for myself to get through to the end and get my qualification. After the start of my A-levels I had decided, a more practical apprenticeship would better suite me so I started looking into the options. The options I found that best suited me were the level 3 engineering apprenticeships, with 1 day a week of college, which after looking at the options is what I wanted due to the struggles I had mentally and academically at college, I couldn’t see myself handling a more academic course.

Of the multiple apprenticeships in this field and at this level that I applied for and got interviews for. I found that the Thames apprenticeship was my favourite and was best suited for my criteria for an apprenticeship. The opportunities available to me were initially vast - with the chance to do different qualifications after the initial apprenticeship

Overall I am very happy with the apprenticeship I feel I definitely picked the right option out of the many that I had. And I am very satisfied with the treatment and support I am given in the workplace and also at college, I feel as though my tutors at college and my managers, mentors and fellow employees on site all have my best interests at mind. and are willing to help when I need it.

Can you tell me about your life and career journey? 

I have quite a history of working from a young age I was aware that everything in life you need to work for and earn. So I started by doing a paper round quite young, which gave me an understanding of working and earning money, from there once I was old enough I went through a refereeing course and became a qualified referee. For a couple of years I was refereeing children's games every Sunday whilst I played football on Saturdays. In my first year at college I had a temporary job at Tesco for a few months, and then after that, I worked at Halfords for a year and a half. At Halfords I was qualified to build and repair bicycles as well as basic maintenance on cars alongside being till trained as well. Working at Halfords also allowed me to get hands on experience which is what I enjoy, from there after deciding I wanted a less academic apprenticeship I knew something on the tools was for me.