National Apprenticeship Week 2022
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service is proud to be part of the Welsh Apprenticeships Programme, which provides valuable opportunities for apprentices to develop work related skills and experiences, and gain a qualification. The scheme also allows apprentices to play an important role in helping us provide a service to our communities.
My name is Alysha and I am the apprentice within the ICT department.
A small description of my role would be dealing with a variety of daily ICT issues in the service. On a day-to-day basis, I answer the phone and log IT calls, along with helping fix problems in the HQ building such as printers, assisting in meeting rooms, etc. At the moment I’m on the service desk team, which is solely based on first-lining IT issues and learning how to do the required trouble shooting and fixing the issue, unless it needs to be passed to another team.
I applied for this apprenticeship because I’ve always had an interest in ICT. I knew this because in school it was the only subject I found a breeze and got good results in. I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do in university, as there were so many different pathways of ICT I could’ve chosen, and I wasn’t sure which one I liked enough to study properly for 3 years. All of my friends were going to university, and I felt pressured to go down that route as I didn’t think any apprenticeships would pop up that I was interested in. When I saw this apprenticeship advert, it intrigued me because I knew I could focus on a broader scope of ICT and get paid for it, instead of choosing a specific pathway in university. The engineering side of the apprenticeship allowed me to expand my physical skills by using tools more often and being more hands on, which is a plus. Long story short, if you’re not entirely sure what you want to study in university, don’t feel pressured to go down that route as apprenticeships can give you the same qualifications with experience on the job
My name is Regan and I am the apprentice within Community Safety.
My role involves working with each team within the community safety department to gain experience and knowledge in community support.
I applied for this apprenticeship because I wanted to gain more experience when working with members of the public, the apprenticeship scheme allows me to work towards qualifications while learning in a working environment. I didn’t have an interest In going to university and believed an apprenticeship would be the best way for me to learn new skills and gain experience in an area that I have a lot of interest in.
My name is Connor and I am the apprentice within Fleet.
My Apprenticeship is a four-year course which includes four practical days at HQ and one theory day at Cardiff and Vale College. The title of my Apprenticeship is “Heavy Goods LGV Technician” although the nature of the role allows us to work on many vehicles within the fleet, from heavy goods to light vehicles.
I’ve always enjoyed being hands on, even at school where I enjoyed Design Technology. There’s so much going on behind closed doors, this is a great opportunity for me. When I was younger I always associated the stations with the firefighters and not the workshop aspects. I have always enjoyed fitting and mechanics and the training provided is outstanding.
After I complete my Apprenticeship I would like to stay within the Service as it is a great place to work and the people around me are always so helpful.