Apprentice Stories
James - Apprentice Vehicle Technician
I work for Test Valley Borough Council as an Apprentice Vehicle Technician, I am studying Motor Vehicle at college alongside my work. During my day at work, I get the opportunity to maintain and repair a wide range of vehicles from Agricultural Tractors to Waste Management Bin Lorries. My key responsibilities are regularly maintaining council vehicles and helping in the aid of roadside breakdowns if our vehicles fail.
Test Valley is a fun enjoyable place to work that gives the satisfaction of knowing that the vehicles you have worked on will be key and essential vehicles for the council. Test valley also has a number of friendly kind staff that will always give a helping hand if you are struggling.
The reason I chose an apprenticeship is because I felt done with being in full time education and wanted to know what it would be like to go full time in a workplace. Not only is it an opportunity to work buy it also holds education that you would not be able to learn in college or school, the education comes from my workmates that hold years of experience and knowledge of working.
Before my apprenticeship and I was at full time college, everything was explained to me as if it was like revision before a test but when I joined Test Valley everything is explained in a calm relaxed manner that will benefit my knowledge. You would not be able to learn about how a wide range of different vehicles work and operate at college but at Test valley, you can. When I was at college I never knew how a waste management lorry worked or how to service and repair a tractor.
My favourite part of my apprenticeship work is probably repairing the vehicles in the workshop and the roadside. It is a great opportunity to learn how these vehicles fail and what the common faults are. Not only is it a chance to work on vehicles in detail that the college does not teach about but it’s also a better place to get education from and I have the chance to learn one on one with my workmates which gives me a better understanding of the vehicles.
Test Valley is a great place to get support from with my apprenticeship if I have any problems of questions regarding my work in the workplace or college work, my workmates are there to give a helping hand and if they cannot do that, my managers are there as well to give me great help and attention to all my needs. They are also there as mental support if I feel that my work or college work is getting to stressful. I would say everyone at Test Valley works as a team to resolve each other’s problems.
Anyone who is unsure about doing another full year at college or debating whether to go into full time work, I would always recommend an apprenticeship. This role gives you the chance to choose if what you’re studying for is actually something you enjoy doing in the real world. What I would like to get out at the end of my apprenticeship is the knowledge to work by myself on many tasks and hopefully get offered the job when my course is finished if not then I am hoping to get a full time job in a garage.