ITEC are one of many businesses which recruit apprentices through City of Bristol College. Design engineer and training manager Andy Smith said: “We recently worked with the college at a recruitment evening where we handed out flyers and information on how to apply for apprenticeships. Applicants applied online and once the information came through we looked at what people were interested in and how they’d fit within our company. Once we had shortlisted the applicants, we invited them in for a brief interview. The college also ran an initial assessment for us.”
One applicant was Ashley Vines who applied for an apprenticeship after completing the first year of his A-levels. “When you are doing A-levels they steer you a lot towards university,” he said. “I didn’t really want to go to university as I’m not very good at exams. I wanted to do something more hands-on, to have the same career but choose a different path. The idea of gaining experience and having an actual job really appealed to me. I didn’t like being in full-time education without earning much money.
Ashley is now employed by Sitec as a design engineer apprentice. He said: “I enjoy the designing side, knowing that you are actually making something or improving something. I didn’t have any experience with aircraft or anything like that, I’ve been taught from scratch. I obviously now know a lot more about how an aircraft works and what is inside them.”
Sitec currently have vacancies for two additional engineering apprentices. Mr Smith said:“Apprentices are very eager and keen to learn. They learn a lot from being taught at the college where they get more hands-on experience which they can bring back into the office. Our apprentices have a college assessor that comes out and checks through their work and every six weeks they meet with me to check on their progress. You need to give young people the chance to get the experience in the workplace. Make sure you have the time for them and a good training plan, and it will pay off. They are very good and you can mould them to what your company needs.”
For more information about the Sitec vacancies, or to apply, contact the City of Bristol College apprenticeship team on 0117 312 5020.