As National Apprenticeship Week 2024 draws to a close, we are excited to announce that it’s graduation day for our final-year apprentices! We have 13 apprentices graduating this year from a range of different business areas and we are thrilled that a host of special guests can attend the event. #NationalApprenticeshipWeek is incredibly important especially for businesses like ours as we understand that our success is built upon the skills and knowledge of our employees.
Thank you to our speakers, Karen Riley (Education and Skills Agency) who spoke on the importance of apprenticeships, and to Jo Gideon (MP) who highlighted the positive impacts that apprenticeships have on the economy.
If that wasn’t enough reason to celebrate, we also unveiled the Apprentice Development Centre or ADC for short. This purpose-built training centre gives our apprentices a designated space to learn and develop their skills, before moving on to work among the various engineering divisions.
The apprentices spend 5 months in the ADC, followed by a further 1 day a week to prepare for their end point assessment, which is done in unison with our training provider TraindUp. The ADC is set up with a host of machines designed to replicate those used out in the shopfloor including a guillotine, roller, hand folder, cropper, pedestal drill, band saw, pedestal grinder, mig welders and milling machines.
Throughout this time the apprentices will gain skills and knowledge in bench fitting and hand tools, sheet metal and fabrication, welding, milling and assembly techniques and tools. In addition, time will also be spent learning about engineering drawings and drawing reading.
The ADC provides an ideal learning environment for new apprentices, to nurture their skills under the guidance of our training team. Here, apprentices then have the freedom to choose how they want to progress, exploring different areas of interest to discover what’s right for them.
Join us in celebrating the accomplishments of our graduating apprentices and the launch of the ADC!
Would you like to learn more about apprenticeships with IAE? Please visit https://iae.co.uk/apprenticeships/
