"National Apprenticeship Week (NAW 2019) takes place 4 to 8 March 2019.
This annual celebration of apprenticeships will bring the whole apprenticeship community together to celebrate the impact of apprenticeships on individuals, employers and the economy."
We're celebrating by getting to know one of our newest apprentices - Ben Cank.
What apprenticeship are you studying?
A Level 3 Advanced Engineering Apprenticeship.
What’s something you do every day at Polypipe?
Process OEE data on Excel for information on availability, quality and output of the production lines.
What’s something you wanted to do when you were younger?
I wanted to become a car designer. I have always had an interest in cars and used to enjoy drawing, but I just wasn’t very good at it.
Favourite subject in school, and why?
Product design as I enjoyed the creativeness of designing a new product but then also being able to make the product from scratch.
Why are apprenticeships good for companies?
Apprenticeships are good for companies as they invest in someone who is willing to learn and grow within the company, the apprentice is somewhat of a blank canvas and the company can really sculpt the apprentice into what they want them to become.
Why was an apprenticeship right for you?
I prefer to learn from being hands on and being able to apply information I have been taught in real world situations, which is what apprenticeships offers over other education routes.
What’s some advice you’d give to young people thinking about doing an apprenticeship?
Go for it, apprenticeships are great if you know what profession you want to go in to or you prefer to learn from experience over other educational options.
How have you found Polypipe?
So far I am enjoying my time at Polypipe, I think I have learnt a lot already and continue to do so each day. The people at Polypipe are great and have no problem giving me a hand or pointing me in the right direction.
What is your general role at Polypipe?
As an Apprentice Quality and Process Technician, my general role is to ensure manufacture and the service we provide at Loughborough meets the requirements of our approvals and our customer’s expectations.