A day in the life of an apprentice at CSG
10 February 2023 by CSG
National Apprenticeship Week recognises and celebrates the accomplishments of apprentices across England. This year, the annual celebration is taking place between Monday 6th February and Sunday 12th February. The week provides an opportunity to showcase the benefits that apprentices can bring to local communities, businesses and the wider economy.
The theme for the week is skills for life, focussing on how work-based training can help our future workforce develop practical skills and knowledge.
Here at CSG, our people are our most important asset. We therefore wanted to take this opportunity during the week to introduce you to one of our own!
Jacob O’Donnell is a prime example of somebody who has benefited from a CSG apprenticeship. He started with us in 2019 and currently works as a Maintenance & Operations Engineering Technician (Level 3) at our hazardous waste treatment facility in Cadishead.
‘I went to college for a year after leaving school, but then decided that completing college and then finding a job wasn’t the route I wanted to go down. I’m dyslexic, so sitting at a desk reading and writing all day was tough. This is when I decided that the apprenticeship route was best for me’
Jacob started off his Level 3 apprenticeship working as a fabricator & welding engineer at a different company, but didn’t get on very well with the people working there. He found himself wanting to do something with a bit more variety. CSG got in touch with his college about their apprenticeship scheme, and for Jacob it was an easy decision!
‘A typical day for me when I’m not at college includes a lot of PPM’s – an abbreviation of planned preventative maintenance. I’m in charge of keeping machines on site running smoothly, such as stacker trucks and the safety showers. There’s a bit of paperwork involved too which can be difficult with my dyslexia, but CSG are very understanding the difficulties I face and I feel supported in this way’.
Since beginning his apprenticeship with CSG, Jacob has received lots of training opportunities. These include St Johns Ambulance Training, a cherry picker licence, a stacker truck licence and additional health & safety training!
‘I now enjoy going into college once a week because I can apply what I’ve learnt at work to my coursework’.
‘Everyone has treated me well since joining the company, and I’ve never felt like I’m treated differently because I’m an apprentice. I feel like it’s been the opposite. My co-workers saw from day one that I had the potential to become an engineer.’
At CSG we believe apprenticeships are a valuable and efficient part of building a skilled workforce. We offer a variety of apprenticeships in different areas of the business, from drivers and operators to office staff. Over the years, we have seen several long-term employees start their careers at CSG as an apprentice.
So, what’s stopping you from applying? You can view all our current vacancies on our website using this link: https://www.csg.co.uk/vacancies
