This week is National Apprenticeship Week, which aims to shine a light on the amazing work being done by employers and apprentices across the country. Our first ever group of apprentices joined us last September, and despite the ongoing pandemic, they have settled in well, made excellent progress, and are learning lots of new skills. Read more about their experience here.
“I am thoroughly enjoying networking and meeting new people, albeit difficult in these tough circumstances. I have relished the opportunity to branch out, learn, and connect with many people across different departments. Being young and straight out of college made this a frightful experience at first, though I feel very welcomed and, in turn, enthusiastic to work alongside different people so I can learn more from them and develop my own skillset.
So far, I have been given the opportunity to give presentations, plan, and host specific events, as well as contribute to certain projects throughout my placements. Being new to an office-based work life this started off as a struggle, especially whilst balancing university too. However, I have enjoyed this challenge as it brings excitement into the natural workday and motivates me towards being successful, both in my work tasks and assignments.”
“During the first 5 months I have already completed 2 of my 6 placements across the company within the Architecture and TOC/SOC Teams. Each one has been very different; I have gained valuable experiences and an insight into the important work each one does. The people in both teams have been warm and welcoming and ready to assist in any way they can.
At the same time, I have been attending Manchester Metropolitan University one day a week. The mix of learning at university and work suits me really well and I’m lucky to be able to directly use my learning in the workplace.
I have gained a wide range of skills and am increasing in confidence with every day and look forward to my next placement within the Innovation team!”
"Although my time at DCC has been short, I have been extremely lucky to have such a well-rounded and varied apprenticeship. I’ve met many interesting people and learnt about how all of their jobs fit together to make the company run. As this is my first full time job, I find myself picking up some business etiquettes. Balancing my work, university and home life can be a struggle but I feel DCC have offered a great deal of support in this aspect. I have also seen that in my placement experiences, DCC has a wealth of very different people, with very different skills sets and personalities, making it clear to me that I could find a place here at the DCC. "
“So far, I have enjoyed my time at DCC, especially learning about DCC’s vision for the future and the projects that are in development. I now understand the work required to go from concept to product, and the importance of considering security requirements throughout the development process. I’m really looking forward to learning more new skills as I move through placements.”
Aakifah Mohamed, Apprentice
3 min read
08.02.2021
