Despite the huge impact of COVID 19, we at the South West Apprenticeship Company have continued to place apprentices with Host Employers throughout. We had to make rapid changes to our recruitment process overnight whilst ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all new apprentices during this difficult time. We take our duty of care towards our apprentices very seriously.
Our new apprentices have been placed in a number of different roles and sectors which have resulted in many entering the world of work having to adapt to home working and online learning, those placed in the NHS have entered at a critical and exhausting time.
It’s natural to be nervous when starting a new job, but a completely different experience when your only contact with new colleagues is remotely or thrown in at the deep end assisting with Covid 19 vaccination clinics!
Once again, we have been blown away with how adaptable and resilient our new apprentices have been during this difficult time. We continue to support all of our apprentices through this difficult time with pastoral care and mentoring. We asked some of our new apprentices how they’d found starting an apprenticeship during a pandemic:
Hannah Mouland
How did you feel starting your apprenticeship during a lockdown?
Starting the apprenticeship during Lockdown has been tough but it has been nice starting it, I’ve had endless support from my work partners and SWAC which has made me feel really welcome.
What has been the biggest challenge?
One of the hardest things was starting a new job and being told to work from home when I was new to everything.
How do you feel now and what has helped you?
I feel extremely happy with my apprenticeship and the people I work with have really helped me feel better as they have supported me constantly throughout. Alice at SWAC has really helped me too, accepting calls no matter what time, to make sure I’m okay! The support I have received is amazing and I look forward to the future.
Josh Woodland
How did you feel starting your apprenticeship during a lockdown?
When starting my apprenticeship it was quite a confusing time as we were just about to go into our second lockdown, when I started I had the equipment to work from home and was helped to set up from home, that made starting my apprenticeship in lockdown easier as I had stuff to do and checked on to make sure I was ready to do it, if I had any questions I could contact someone at any time within teams or emails.
What has been the biggest challenge?
One of my biggest challenges was working from home when I first started, it was something I had never done before but with weekly meetings with everyone it was very easy to adjust to working from home.
How do you feel now and what has helped you?
I feel really good and happy in my role and workplace, everyone has been very kind and friendly and answers any questions I have, big or small. I have been given a project to keep myself busy and after doing research and testing and getting lots of help from my line manager it finally works! I am very happy with my apprenticeship and working from home.
Aiden Tole
How did you feel starting your apprenticeship during a lockdown?
At first, I didn’t know what to expect as this past year has been very different. However, everyone that I’ve met have been very welcoming and friendly.
What has been the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge for me is getting used to working from home in my own environment rather than an office or a classroom.
How do you feel now and what has helped you?
Another apprentice has been very helpful in showing me CAD software, and just generally checking in on me.
Megan Howells
How did you feel starting your apprenticeship during a lockdown?
Starting my apprenticeship over a lockdown wasn’t the easiest, learning to do a lot of things virtually was very new to me. However, I have had a lot of support from everyone I work with, I can call them any time and they help me out.
What has been the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge I have faced since my apprenticeship started was getting used to working from home. I am one of those people who seem to work better when I’m at my actual work place.
How do you feel now and what has helped you?
As every day goes by I am feeling more confident with my role and what I am doing. I think what has helped me is the people who I work with day in and day out, they have supported me and helped show me how to do everything I was unsure about. They also answer any questions I have, not only about the work I’m doing but the apprenticeship itself.
Harrison Wedlock
How did you feel starting your apprenticeship during a lockdown?
I was completely fine with starting my apprenticeship in lockdown, if anything it gave me motivation as there was not much to do in lockdown so overall, I have been very happy.
What has been the biggest challenge?
Adapting to a new environment, taking in all of the knowledge related to my work tasks as well as completing college work has been hard to balance but it’s becoming a lot easier with time.
How do you feel now and what has helped you?
I feel a lot of better about everything and more comfortable as my colleagues have been massively helpful and supportive so it is a lot easier now.
