Delivering Skills For Life
We’re delighted to be joining in the celebrations of National Apprenticeship Week, which now in its 17th year, is running from 5th – 11th February 2024.
National Apprenticeship Week brings together everyone passionate about apprenticeships to celebrate the value, benefit and opportunity that they bring. The theme for National Apprenticeship Week 2024 is “Skills for Life”, where individuals, companies and the wider economy are encouraged to look at ways to develop a workforce with future ready skills.
As proud supporters of earn and learn programmes we look forward to National Apprenticeship Week as a way to raise awareness of the benefits of an apprenticeship programme. Which for us means recruiting to provide a lifelong career and not just fill a temporary gap. We actively look to teach skills for life.
The week-long celebration also provides an opportunity for us to shine a light on our amazing team, which currently includes three apprentices who we welcomed last year.
Now they have had some time to settle in to their roles, Liam Burns, Josh Bearby and Sam Bullock share below their insights into apprenticeships, training and being a part of the IMH team.
Engineering apprentice, Josh Bearby is completing a HNC at Hartlepool College of Further Education. As part of his training, Josh is learning how to draw hydraulic circuits using HydroSym – a software solution for designing the schematics of a hydraulic system. He’s also working on a project to design and build a new flushing rig which will be used to clean hydraulic systems.
Josh commented: “It’s really exciting to have this opportunity to first research the requirements of the company and then investigate the options and considerations for a flushing rig that will be effective and efficient.
“The project is just one aspect of my time here at IMH and I love it, it really feels like I’ve made a lot of progression through the experiences I’ve had.”
Liam Burns joined us as our first multi-skilled apprentice and is completing a MOET level 3 at Hartlepool College of Further Education.
Through his apprenticeship Liam is receiving training across multiple disciplines such as pipefitting and welding so that by the end of his course he will be a mechanical fitter, able to work across the business.
Liam, whose dad has worked for the company for a number of years, added: “The whole team at IMH are so friendly and willing to give up their time to share their skills and knowledge and answer any questions I have.
“I couldn’t ask for more from the apprenticeship, I’m constantly learning new skills which are making me better. And the skills I’m gaining here is helpful for when I work on cars in my spare time.”
19-year-old Sam Bullock from Middlesbrough is in his first year, so attends Hartlepool College of Further Education full-time and works at IMH during non-term times. Though, he’s currently been granted leave from college for three weeks to gain experience on a client site in Wales. His leave of absence from college was approved because of how well he is doing in his studies.
Sam commented on his experience so far: “When I’m not at college I work in the service department at IMH which is a great way for me to see the breadth of work the company undertakes for customers. Under supervision, I take apart components and look for the issue or confirm the issue the client may have identified before fixing it and putting it all back together. The part is then tested before we dispatch back to the client.
“Before I started at IMH a family friend who has previously worked for IMH said it is a company this is a leader in hydraulics, and it treats its staff really well. And now I’m here everything I was told is true and I’m really enjoying my time with the company.”
We have a strong heritage in providing opportunities for learning and skills development and welcome applications to join our team. Though we’re not actively recruiting now you can sign up to be kept up to date on our apprenticeship programme here: https://mailchi.mp/bdedf4d28390/kmeu34z3qd.