Sutton Coldfield-based Jude Bloice is a first year Make UK apprentice currently working with Severn Trent at its Minworth site.
He started his training with Make UK straight from school, having been inspired by his brother’s journey as a fellow apprentice.
Here are his thoughts on engineering apprenticeships.
“My family has always been engineering orientated – my dad worked in the industry and my brother was a design engineering apprentice with Jaguar. There has been a domino effect in my family, at school I was studying design technology as the closest available option, and I couldn’t wait to start my engineering training.
“I work at Minworth, one of Severn Trent’s biggest sites in the UK. Here, we produce energy from biogases, and, on the other side of the site, we process sewerage and produce clean water from it. This means I get to work with a variety of machinery and equipment, seeing it in action and discovering how it works.
“I really love the hands-on side of the job; it keeps me motivated and it’s nothing like a traditional office role. I always needed something practical, and the diversity of my work keeps me motivated – I could be working on anything from a simple pump to high-pressure gas tanks or macerators, which change waste solids into liquids.
“I think my biggest achievement was being accepted onto the apprenticeship – 8,000 people applied so being a successful candidate was really rewarding. I applied for quite a few apprenticeships, mainly engineering- and design-based, but the Make UK one really stood out because of the opportunities it offered.
“In the first year, we mainly focus on training and learning the basics. Currently I’m working at Make UK’s Technology Hub five days a week, but next year I will be on site for four days and back at Hub for one. I can’t wait to see what my future brings!”
