b'APPRENTICESHIPSMeet Kelly Groups New Apprenticeship GraduatesKellyGroupisdelightedtoprovideaassist their future careers within Kelly GroupInstallation Engineer accreditations, Openreach comprehensive apprenticeship scheme with ourand the telecommunications industry. Fibre Network Build accreditations and many experienced in-house training team on variousTheGroupsapprenticesgainup-to-datemore.contracts supporting Virgin Media, City Fibrequalifications that meet the telecommunications and Openreach. industryrequirementssuchasOpenreachWithin this feature, were delighted to introduce CALOMIaccreditations,VirginMediaNick, Joe, Kiran and Jeremy a selection of our The skills and knowledge new engineers gain willInstallation Engineer accreditations, City Fibrerecent apprentice graduates.Joseph Horgan IbuildfibrenetworksonbehalfofOpenreach.help of my mentor and practice I managed to get We step in once blockages have been cleared anda hood grasp of it now I am a fully qualified fibre Upongraduatingfromcollege,introduce cables, build joints, and test CBTs tosplicer. Idecidedtopursueacareerensure the connection is live. We could be working inphotographyandstudiedin an underground chamber or on the overgroundThere is a moment during the buddy period that I part-time at the University ofnetwork. am extremely proud of - completing my first solo Westminster. Sadly, it wasntinstallation. It was a difficult job, and my buddy was what I was expecting. I had toIstartedmyapprenticejourneyworkingwithimpressed with the result and efficiency.work on a variety of projectsour cablers team. I had no experience within the thatdidntinterestmeandI am very excited to be an essential part of building a slowly realised that maybe it justGigabit Britan, I am confident that this nationwide wasnt the right career for me. I madeprojectprovidesmewithalifelongsustainable the difficult decision to leave university during mycareer within the industry. In the future, I would second year.love to teach and train engineers, once I feel like I gained enough experience and knowledge to pass Ihadafewfriendsworkingintheon. I would like to stay with Kelly Group, if possible, telecommunicationsindustry,andtheylovedit.and build my career within the business.ItsoundedlikeaninterestingcareerpathwithIenjoy being a fibre splicer because possiblecareerprogressionandopportunities.I wasalwaysinterestedintechnology,butdidntit keeps me switched on and creative want to work in a desk-bound role. I was looking forthroughout the problem-solving entry-level jobs when I came across Kelly Groups apprenticeshipschemeandwashappywhenIindustry, and it provided an excellent overview ofprocess and I genuinely find it fun.received the invitation for an assessment day. I wasthetelecomsnetworkandinsightintowhyour delighted to accept the offered apprentice position.engineersjobissoimportant.OnceIstartedWe are lucky to have a good team amongst the I already made a few friends during the assessmentworking with my buddy, I gained a foundation ofapprentices. It is nice to have a group of friends to day, and it was great to see familiar faces on ourknowledge that I could further build on.rely on when needed.first day. We bonded as a team throughout our experience.At first, it was a lot to take in due to the depth of the knowledge required as a splicer but with the Kiran Stephen Iwould recommend doing an BeforeIjoinedKellyGroup,apprenticeship, it is a great opportunity to Iworkedinvariousroles includingbeinganAssistantlearn in-depth about telecommunications Underwriter for an insurancewith the guidance and help of trainers, company and working within theconstructionindustrymanagers and mentors.for a little while. I wanted toMymanager,welfareteamandHRarealways become a useful part of societythere to support us, which is fantastic. Whatever soIwassearchingfortraineemost of it. The work just took off in a positive way,may be the issue, there is someone who you can opportunities, where I would be ableI had the opportunity to travel across the countrycontact for support, and they will try their hardest to gain certificates and training that will help meand learn from different trainers and mentors. Ito help.establish a career. Due to my age, it was quitewas trained on the Openreach contract and was difficult to get into trainee opportunities and I didntdelighted to pass all my credentials to become aOften jobs may seem easy, but we run into issues realise the apprentice path was still open for me,fully qualified engineer. I was trained as a cablersuch as blockages and I enjoy the challenge of I always thought I should have done it right afterand fibre splicer as well, which is a huge benefitcoming up with creative ideas by thinking outside I finished school. I was relieved when Kelly Groupbecause I can deal with every aspect of the job.of the box and coming up with solutions.believed in my skills and dedication and invited meMy goal is to support this massive project of making to join as an apprentice. I completed the initialfibre available nationwide. Im looking forward toI work on building the fibre networking infrastructure assessment day and I have to say I felt extremelydiscoveringnewtechnologiesinthefutureandfor residential areas. On a typical week, I would welcomed from the first second.learning more about the different ways fibre can bestart working within a new passive optical network I am very proud to complete my telecoms fieldusedit is a fascinating world. within a residential area, pull in the main feed cable operativeapprenticeshipprogram,itwasanI wasnt under pressure at any point, the focus wasandbranchitoutundergroundandoverground amazing 15-month journey and I feel like I made thealways on my learning and development. setting the network up for the installation team. 26 .The Networker Spring 2022'