National Apprenticeship Week

07 Feb 2024

At the mid-point of this years’ National Apprenticeship week, Today we’re catching up with some of our past apprentices, who are now in permanent positions across the business, on how they found their apprenticeship experience at Space.

What motivated you to apply for an apprenticeship within Space Engineering? 

Henry Hellings (Industrial Improver Engineer): The transferable skills I can learn.

Archie Dunn (Industrial Improver Engineer):  I luckily found out about Space Engineering on a college open evening. When speaking to Bath College’s refrigeration lecturer, Simon, he gave me the idea to apply.

Jake Parkins (Refrigeration Improver Engineer): I was studying engineering at Exeter College. The next step for me was to pursue an apprenticeship. Luckily, I had a family member in the trade, so I was able to complete a couple days of work experience with Space Engineering to get a feel for the role. I thoroughly enjoyed it and applied for Space’s Apprenticeship Programme.

How long have you now been with Space?

HH: 3 years. 2 years with Des in the warehouse and partly at college for a year. 1 year on the Industrial team. 

AD: I have been working for Space for coming up to 4 years now.

JP: I have now been with Space for almost 6 years. 

So far, my experience at Space Engineering has been excellent, I have been with Space Engineering now for over 4 years and have enjoyed every minute. I have used the things I learnt in college everyday and I continue to learn new skills to further progress my career. My advice for anyone wanting to join this industry would be to make sure you listen to what your engineer or anyone on site tells you and to always use their experience for your benefit. – Joe Nouch (Commissioning Improver)

What training/experience has helped with your role to date? 

HH: College enabled me to get an understanding of what refrigeration is. Joining the Industrial team has developed the transferable skills I have gained.

AD: Space Engineering have supplied me with lots of training such as refrigeration and air conditioning level 2, ammonia awareness training, IPAF and CO2 training coming up soon. I have also been fortunate to gain a lot of experience in different departments such as Manufacturing, Tesco Retail and Industrial.

JP: I feel that shadowing other colleagues has been an important part of gaining experience for me. I also feel that lone-working and learning from mistakes is also key to learning. 

The apprenticeship was a great way to start off in the industry. I have been here for nearly 6 years.  From being able to gain experience in the field while attending college. To experiencing all the different departments. It gave me a great start and helped me to find my path. – George Kavanagh (Commissioning Improver)

I’ve been with Space Engineering now for 2.5 years, I started in the manufacturing department which helped me get a better understanding of the systems I work with now out on service. I think the most essential qualities are to be good at problem-solving, having the ability to diagnose and troubleshoot issues with refrigeration systems, willingness to learn and adapt to new technologies and industry developments and the ability to effectively communicate with team members and clients. – Mackenzie Cox (Refrigeration Improver Engineer)

What are your long term career goals within the industry?

HH: To become a quality engineer augmenting my knowledge.

AD: I am currently on industrial and really enjoying it, so much interesting work and sites to see. My long term goal is to expand on my knowledge and keep improving as an engineer and improve on my confidence.

JP: A long-term career goal for me is to progress with my career development and to continue learning new things and gaining experience.

What qualities do you feel are essential for success in this industry?

HH: Flexibility, collaboration, determination.

AD: Just being able to stay calm not panic even if the whole system is not running.

JP: I think that resilience is an important quality to hold within this role. I think time management and work balance is also key to keeping a healthy mentality and relationships.

What accomplishment are you most proud of and why?

HH: Sabroe compressor overhaul service. This gave me an opportunity to further develop my skills and learn.

AD: I would say my first week on call. We had call-out and were able to get the system back up and running, found the root cause of the problem and ordered the new part.

JP: My biggest accomplishment is joining a new role that is more demanding and challenging than my previous roles within the company. I have learnt a lot of new things and developed my knowledge. Furthermore, I’ve met new colleagues and their knowledge and experience has also been helpful to learn from.

Anything else you would like to share with us on your experiences to date?

HH: If there is anything you ever need to ask, everyone in the team is more than willing to help you out and explain things.