Apprenticeships are commonplace within QE Facilities. It’s been a particularly popular route in our Estates department. Just last week we celebrated one of our apprentices Alexander Prescott successfully completing his Level 3 Science Industry Maintenance Technician apprenticeship. Since completing his apprenticeship, Alex has been employed full time as an electrician with QE Facilities.
Alex studied Level 2 domestic electrical installation at Middlesborough college before looking for an apprenticeship. We asked Alex why he decided to go down the apprenticeship route. “I decided to do an apprenticeship to gain qualifications and practical experience with a company to help me begin my career in the electrical industry. I thought the apprenticeship route was more tailored for me compared to university as I’m a more hands-on learner. I chose QEF as they were offering a multi skilled apprenticeship, I’ve always loved cars and working on them, So I figured that having both electrical and mechanical knowledge would help me in my hobby and keep my career options open.”
We believe that apprenticeships give candidates the opportunity, to gain valuable qualifications and learn first-hand from knowledgeable colleagues. Apprenticeships provide a unique training experience for the student and in turn provide us with an educated workforce with experience working in our unique environment. We asked Alex what have you enjoyed most on your course?
“I’ve most enjoyed the specialist courses the apprenticeship has provided which has allowed me to travel around the country meeting interesting people and studying different topics to aid me in my role as a maintenance technician. My favourite must be the confined spaces training in Houghton Le Spring; where I got to crawl through mines and use respirators. Another noteworthy experience was having the opportunity to work with a range of different contractors on site for maintenance; from replacing and testing batteries used in UPS systems to doing a full service on our backup diesel generators. Overall, I’m grateful I’ve had the chance to work alongside some talented and knowledgeable tradesman. I’d like to think I’ve soaked up a decent bit of knowledge that I can apply in my career and pass on to future apprentices”.