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Apprenticeships – the sepura view

Karl Forbes

Head of Product Realisation

November 2013

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sepura’s Market Position & Customer Base

Market Leader in over 30 countries

� Police

� Ambulance

� Fire

� Government

� Petrochemical

� Oil & Gas

� Transportation

� Commercial

• Design and Manufacture

of TETRA communication

equipment

• Robust, professional

quality, secure radio

products

• Manufacture ~150,000

radios every year

• Headquarters in

Cambridge with Global

sales presence

• Over 300 employees with

more than half working

within new Product

Development

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Why Apprentices?

Current Product Development team filled with experience – skewed to “senior” work

Increasing cost per head

Constant pressure to “do more” with a constraint of “controlled spending”

How to handle scalability?

�Additional overheads….?

Poorly matched capabilities…...?

Distractions….?

Why NOT Apprentices?

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Getting started

Focus on what you need – not which course is best

• Creation of Job Description(s)

• Site visits from CRC

• Trust CRC! Don’t try to get your head around the details of the Apprenticeship programme…

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Advertising and interviewing

� External company web site

� Internal web sites

� Internal notice boards

� CRC web site

� Local newspaper ads

� Jobs Fair

� Press Release

Don’t be shy!!

� Paper screening by CRC

� Practical tests

� IT skill assessment

� Look around

� “Interview day”

Consider the selection process

Conclusions

from CRC

October 2012

Adverts LIVE

November 2012

Interviewing

process complete

December 2012

Decision to

consider Apprentices

September 2012

Apprentices start

employment

January 2013

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Settling in and getting up to speed

� Internal induction programme

� Weekly catch-up with me!

� Assume no “useful” work for first few month

� Clear Objectives and monthly 1-2-1s with Team Leader

� Set “mini-projects” as well as “assistance” objectives

� Consider supplemental training

Plan the ramp upProgress will

accelerate

rapidly with

support

Take it seriously

� New PCs, desks, phones

� Time investment

� Treat as step one on their career path

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� Four Apprentices contributing on live, new product development projects

� Designing, building, testing

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Why an Apprenticeship at Sepura?

What made me apply for a job at Sepura

• A variety of interesting daily duties

• Lots of opportunities for more extensive tasks and training

• A chance to learn new skills in a number of different areas

• Many Responsibilities within the team

What made me apply for an Apprenticeship?

• Valuable experience within a workplace

• A chance to get involved in “real-life” problems and projects

• Working in a mature environment alongside interested and intelligent people

• The opportunity to learn from someone with years of working experience

• A chance to earn money rather than spending!

What did I do before starting my Apprenticeship?

• Studies A Levels in Electronics, Maths and Physics

• Completed first year of Media Technology degree at Southampton Solent University

• Stopped studying at University as course not as technical as expected

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First 6 Months

The Good…

• Very friendly and welcoming colleagues

• An overview of the different departments of the company

• Weekly meetings with Karl

• Monthly meetings with my line-manager

• A “mentor” for support and to assist on jobs

• Other apprentices in a similar situation

• Having my own desk and equipment

• Clear objectives to aim at

…and the challenging

• Getting used to having important responsibilities that come with repercussions

• Getting used to attending and contributing to meetings

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To summarise….

� Focus on what you need – leave the training “design” to CRC

� Take what you’re doing seriously – shout about it to anyone that can hear

� Plan the ramp-up carefully – provide guided assistance regularly, start with low expectations and be pleasantly surprised.

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