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Welcome to the WorkWise Apprenticeship Podcast.
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If you're thinking about starting an apprenticeship, you're unsure of what your next step might be, or you simply want to hear from people who are already doing these jobs, then you're in the right place.
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The interviewers and apprentices you'll hear throughout this podcast aren't professional broadcasters or media trained guests.
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They volunteered to take part because, just like you, they want the next generation to understand the opportunities available and make informed choices about their future.
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So let's meet our guests and hear their stories on the WorkWise Apprenticeship Podcast.
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Great job! Welcome to the WorkWise Podcast.
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I'm Jacob Sharp and I am joined by Paul Witter, Electrical Manager at Mountjoy.
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How are you doing today, Paul?
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You okay?
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I'm doing fine, thank you.
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So ExpressFM has partnered with Mountjoy and the city of Ports of College to launch WorkWise, a new project designed to give young people practical insight into careers and training opportunities.
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So the first question I want to ask you, Paul, is when an apprentice first walks through the door, what are you looking for from them before they've even had a chance to prove their technical skills?
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Um I think when they first walk through the door, I'm looking for a smile, uh a welcoming smile, looking walking through with a bit of confidence and just smartly dressed.
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And what separates an apprentice who's doing okay from what the one who really stands out and makes you think we want to keep this person going?
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I think um if they're on site then we'd expect an apprentice to get the tools ready, get the materials ready, ask questions, be proactive in what they're doing each day, always turn up on time, be smart, be polite to the customers, and just be uh doing well at college as well, that's important, but just to be proactive rather than just sitting there waiting to be asked a question or asked to do something.
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Yes, I'm guessing like you when you're there, it's kind of that thing of like being practical, you know, like you said there, turning up on time, being that p kind of person who wants to be in the room where you know you just feel like yourself and you just come into the to the work to the the to the place where you feel like somewhere different from the others.
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Yeah, yeah, it it's um th that they're in the workplace, that they're there to work and learn, so we expect them to work and learn.
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It's no good having a somebody who's just sits there on his phone in the corner all the time.
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That's that's not good for for us and good good for the company.
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Exactly.
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And what would you say is a good learning process for someone who wants to come in?
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Okay, I think they need to to research the um research for in my case electrical work, they need to research what sort of type of work they're going to carry out, what they need to do to gain their qualifications, and what they need to do to pass their uh portfolios, because they get a portfolio with practical skills in there, they need to pre-read that.
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So it just doesn't come as a shock to them.
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It's all there ready and they know what what to do going forward.
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And what would you say they have to put into that portfolio in terms of skills?
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Um It's just the learning that they carry out on site, so they need to do take photographs of the work they've done and they need to have an explanation of how they carried out that that work.
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So they must know that when they're doing the job, they must know how to do it to put that onto paper afterwards.
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And young people sometimes worry they'll be expected to know everything from day one.
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What do you actually expect an apprentice to know when they first start?
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Nothing.
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I think.
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Yeah, no, I'm quite happy for somebody to come in.
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They obviously interested in um the electrical side of things.
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And if they come in knowing absolutely nothing, that's fine, but they must be willing to learn that subject that they're i in interested in.
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Obviously, when they start with us, they haven't done anything, no college work, no on-site experience, so I I can't expect them to know stuff, so it's always good to let them know look, we're not afraid that you don't know nothing, let's just come through and then we'll we'll teach you to get to where you want to be.
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So I'm guessing like that goes with like the learning process of things, building each time, learning new things when you start.
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Yep, that's perfect, yeah.
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And from an employer's point of view, why does the apprenticeship system work and what do you gain from developing somebody rather than simply recruiting someone who's already been qualified?
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I think um if somebody's already qualified, there's a lot of companies that are that are art of people and it becomes a bit of a bit of a market which causes us
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issue with wages and etc.
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things like that.
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What I say is that um if we start an apprentice, they learn our values, they learn how we work right at the start, learn how the ethos of Mountjoy wants as a company, and then we're already uh I say their brains trained in the way that we're working as soon as they go out on on their tools.
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So it's always good to have some research into the business, don't do you think?
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Um I I think so, yes.
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Just a little bit of a background on what we do, what we can do.
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Without having that experience not knowing much, but like I said before, you can build up that process over time.
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Yes, you can.
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Yeah, most definitely.
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And if we look five or ten years into the future, what opportunities do you think will be there for today's apprentices and how far could somebody joining you now realistically progress?
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So I think there's a lot of opportunities now.
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Before, if you came into the electrical trade or an apprenticeship in electrical, it was just purely electric electrics, circuits, etc.
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Now we're moving over to all the green energy within that green energy.
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You've got the solar panels which are all electric, you've got solar thermal, which is which is hot water, but is everything in it's electric.
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Um you've got battery storage, so there's a lot of solar renewables that's going to come to the forefront very quickly, and obviously once they're installed they have to be ma maintained.
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Regarding the person coming into the company as an apprentice that worlds his oyster, he can if he puts his mind to it, if he learns, if he keeps himself dedicated to the cause, then why shouldn't he become a electrical supervisor, electrical manager, or go off and do something that really pr progresses his career?
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To be like exactly like you said, to build them up for their career.
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And what would you say for someone who is standing out from the rest of the crowd?
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What makes you sup that some of that someone come into come into Mountjoy and be different from someone else who doesn't want to be part really be part of it or you know put themselves forward?
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I think um he he would put himself forward, but would pick pick that out quite quickly if he's keen to learn, then he's asking questions.
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We will pick that up, and then once he starts that his his name goes into your mind, and I think um we would pick him out as somebody who wants to pr progress.
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We sit down and speak to him, see what he wants out of his career, and then just go from there.
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And what is next for the progression of Mountjoy and ExpressFM and City of Portsor College?
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What what is that progression looking like at the minute?
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I think it's progressing well.
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Um I think uh we have an intake of learners and apprentices in September.
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Um we've got quite a few improvers on the electrical side at the moment, so who's probably studied one or two years that they're now wanting a company to work with, so we've taken them on.
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It's quicker for us because we need to just do the last year, and then they go they they can go straight out on their tools.
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So I think it's good to build up the apprenticeship and the improver levels within the company.
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Absolutely.
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Um and yeah, thank you very much for your time, Paul, for speaking to us today.
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Okay, thank you very much.
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Great job.
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Thank you for listening to the Workwise Apprenticeship Podcast.
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We hope you've enjoyed hearing real experiences from apprentices and employers, and that it's helped you learn more about the opportunities available through apprenticeships.
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If you have a question, you can send it directly through the platform you're listening on, and we'll make sure it reaches the right person.
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For more information about apprenticeships with Mountjoy, visit mountjoy.co.uk, or for general information about apprenticeships, visit apprenticeships.gov.uk.
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Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time on the Workwise Apprenticeship Podcast.