Aged 17, I started my plumbing apprenticeship in September. I was lucky to be given this opportunity when Designer Group offered me a start after being interviewed by their HR manager.
The Designer Group got my details from JTL which is the training provider that manages my apprenticeship. This means they find a college place for me, register me and assess me on the NVQ part of the scheme.
I had to pass a JTL aptitude test, which allowed me to become an approved JTL applicant. This list was sent to the Designer Group on request when they wanted to recruit.
JTL have placed me at Barking College, which is about 10 miles and two trains away from home. I attend from 9 until 5, one day a week, and have practical workshop in the mornings and theory in the afternoons.
I have had a college and JTL induction with my training officer and assessor who discusses the course requirements and gives me all the supporting resources which includes plumbing books, NVQ portfolio and a set of Monument plumbing tools.
My assessor says he will visit me every 12 weeks on site or at college to guide me through the NVQ and help me with any issues that I may have. I have recently passed a domestic cold water exam, so I am well pleased and feel that I am getting used to college and site work.
I feel this is mainly due to the outside training I get from my Designer Group on-site mentors who I work with on a day to day basis. Before being able to work on site, I had to pass a Health and Safety CSCS test which Designer Group enrolled me on. I had the CSCS book to study a week before and I passed the multiple choice touch screen test with 96%. My PPE was issued to me which included safety boots, hard hat, goggles, gloves and a high visible vest. I attended a site health and safety induction which is a school just near Canary Wharf. My on-site supervisor introduced me to my mentor and I have been helping and observing him while installing hot and cold pipework and second fixing toilet areas.
I am really enjoying life on site and feel part of a team, I have also adapted to the early starts better than I thought, as I spent the Summer sleeping in. I was offered a place at Sixth Form but after five weeks with Designer Group and JTL I feel I have made a good decision to pursue a plumbing career.
See you next month, Mitch.
For more information on JTL visit, jtltraining.com
[author image=”https://www.installeronline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/MITCHELROBERTS.jpg” ]Mitchell Brown was recruited as a JTL apprentice in late summer of 2013. He celebrated his 17th birthday in October. He is employed by Designer Group, which has its UK headquarters in Shepherd’s Bush, London. One day each week is spent at Barking & Dagenham College in Romford as part of his striving to first achieve a Level 2 Plumbing qualification before moving forward to Level 3. Mitchell expects the process to last for four years. A former student of West Hatch High School in Chigwell, he achieved good GCSE grades and thought long and hard about whether to go forward to A levels, before deciding to accept the opportunity of a JTL apprenticeship. [/author]
