Apollo's Apprenticeship Success

Published: 04 March 2019


(L-R) Apollo Managing Director, Ian Cornelius, former apprentice and now Maintenance Operative, Sam Lawson and Laboratory Technician Apprentices, Ellie Jackson and Hasan Haideri.

With today being the start of National Apprenticeship Week, we are celebrating the success of our apprenticeship program at Apollo, as our first ever apprentice completes his training and two more start their journey.

Apollo took on Sam Lawson in July 2015 to help him gain his level 3 NVQ in Maintenance Engineering. Almost three years later he is now a fully-fledged Maintenance Operative and a permanent member of our Engineering team.

Ellie Jackson and Hasan Haideri joined Apollo as Laboratory Technician apprentices, and just over six months into their training, are already making a valuable contribution to Apollo. Having both completed their A-levels and turned down university places in favour of an apprenticeship, Ellie and Hasan are now studying for a Btec Level 3 Laboratory Technician qualification. They spend their week with the Quality and Technical teams and one day studying via a skype session with science industry apprentice organisation, Cogent Skills.

Apollo Managing Director, Ian Cornelius, said: “When recruiting we are always looking for people who are passionate about their chosen careers and we developed our apprenticeship programme to provide us with another recruitment avenue to do just that.

“It’s a two-way process, we are able to support the apprentices in their chosen field, providing on the job training, and we can grow talent and develop a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce. Ultimately, we believe that our apprenticeship programme can support our succession planning and help to future-proof our business.”

Following the success of our apprenticeship programme so far, we are now looking to extend the programme further. Managing Director, Ian Cornelius added: “We are currently working with South Staffs College to take on an Accounts apprentice and are excited to follow the progress of our current apprentices as we continue to support them and help them reach their full potential in their chosen careers.”

Read more about our apprentices' experiences in their case studies below:

Sam Lawson, Maintenance Engineering Apprenticeship

Ellie Jackson and Hasan Haideri, Lab Technician Apprenticeship