“I now know I definitely want to be an Engineer” – Josh Rennie, Foundation Apprentice

Over the summer holidays our Engineering Foundation Apprentices took on the challenge of a two-week work placement with a local engineering company. We caught up with some of the pupils to find out how they are finding the Foundation Apprenticeship and if they enjoyed their work placement.

Prestwick based GE Caledonian was the company of choice for Belmont Academy pupil, Josh Rennie.

A Foundation Apprenticeship is a work-based learning course that allows school pupils to gain a college qualification while remaining at school. The work placement is one of the key elements of the course, as pupils can put into practice the skills they have learnt.

“The course was appealing to me. I saw a video about the class and thought this is what I want to do.

"It’s a good opportunity to help me get into employment when I leave school, and it’s a good qualification to have to progress onto a Modern Apprenticeship. Employers are now looking for it.

"The course itself is good, it’s actually quite fun. It’s a lot of practical and not too much theory, especially when it comes to the work experience, which I like. The course content focuses on skills that I need for going into the workplace.

"Currently, we are studying for a National Certificate (NC) and units of the Performing Engineering Operations (PEO) qualification. The class is very hands-on. The lecturers show us what they want us to do and then we go ahead and carry out the task.

"During my summer holidays I spent two weeks at GE Caledonian, working Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm. On the first couple of days I was working on a compressor, then I moved into the gearbox room, where I spent time working on gearbox techniques. The last few days I worked on the core unit which is part of the compressor.

"The work experience was a lot of hands-on jobs, I got to develop skills that I will use when I go into the workplace. It was a really fun placement. I would like to get a Modern Apprenticeship there when I leave school.

"I now know I definitely want to be an engineer. I am not sure what area I want to go into yet. I am enjoying learning about the different aspects of engineering and feel that my work placement has helped show me that aeronautical engineering could be a good option for me.”

Stephen McNab, Apprentice Leader at GE Caledonian commented “The group of Foundation Apprentices on work placement with us were fantastic. Their enthusiasm and drive over the two weeks was evident from the start. The level of skill they started the placement with was tremendous. I had their mentors here telling me how impressed they have been. For us as a company, being able to interact with the Foundation Apprentices is valuable. It offers us the opportunity to spot talent and create a pipeline into our Modern Apprenticeship programme.”

For more information about our Foundation Apprenticeship Programmes click here.