How do I find a good Apprentice? Apprenticeships Week 14th - 18th March 2016

How do I find a good Apprentice?

The simple answer is to volunteer for SATRO! But why would that help you find a good Apprentice?

In July 2015, Minted Box began its first year-long apprenticeship with now 18-year-old Will Wright who left Ashcombe School in Dorking to learn more about something he is genuinely passionate about; Web Development. “As it happened, we found Will at a school event we were at,” says Minted Box Director Iain Bell.

This particular event involved Minted Box Head Developer James Alvarez-Buylla visiting Will’s school for ‘Career Speed Dating’. Students would sit in a big hall and business owners would rotate around, giving the students 5 minutes to guess what their job was and a further 5 minutes to talk and ask questions. “Everyone at school knew me as the guy who builds websites because I did it in my free time. So at the end of the event I got a card from James and I emailed him for advice, he turned around and offered an apprenticeship which turned out to be for the best!” said Will.

“Will was 17 at the time so we were keen not to encourage him to jump ship but we put the apprenticeship offer on the table if he wanted it and that really worked,” said Iain.
“The apprenticeship scheme is aimed at creating a rounded individual and it’s up to us as a company to make the whole environment and deal attractive enough as we've invested time into them. But Will is learning enough other things that he could take them elsewhere,” said Iain. For Will, the offer presented to him was perfect: “It turned out my AS grades were really bad. I failed my AS Levels but I was good at computers and I was good at websites, I just wasn't good in the academic sense.” “It really is different going straight from school and I stay in touch with some people from school and they are saying that A2s are really hard and I'm sitting here saying, I'm just having fun at work in a company whilst getting paid to do it.”

Minted Box really helped support Will as he knows he can ask whatever question comes up: “You can get what you need. You can get an answer that doesn't get tied up in an email chain somewhere. You just turn around and ask.”
“It’s quite cool that I'm actually involved in a big project and it's Vodafone! I was in school 2 months ago and now I'm working with Vodafone. Something is wrong here! Vodafone are a huge multi-national company, and it’s like. I'm building their website! So it's quite amazing.”

This apprenticeship has also allowed James to push Will out of his comfort zone: “I'm not a very talkative person and I wouldn't be doing the things I'm doing by myself. It's the fact that James is going: ‘Here, try this, try this.’ If I have James' approval I'm more than happy to give something a shot because he trusts me enough to do it and that's enough for me to think, ok I can do it then.”

If you are interested in volunteering for SATRO or getting involved in any of our events, contact us via contactus@satro.org.uk or visit our website for more information www.satro.org.uk