National Apprenticeship Week 2023

6th – 12th February 2023 marks Apprenticeship Week, a great opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions made by apprentices in the work place. At Cardiff Bus, we have four apprentices working with us, who are crucial additions in our engineering department of thirty employees.

While working with us, our apprentices have developed invaluable skills and experience of working within the transportation industry which will help them progress within their future job roles.

The contribution of apprentices at Cardiff Bus is huge, and their hard work and dedication is recognised by us. Many of the apprentices we have employed have stayed at Cardiff Bus and progressed with full-time roles because they have enjoyed their time here so much.

We recently spoke to Austin, one of our four apprentice engineers at Cardiff Bus for a better insight into what is involved in our apprentices’ roles.

1. How did you become an apprentice at Cardiff Bus?

I did a 12-month course in college and then a week of work experience at Cardiff Bus, I liked it here so much that I wanted to stay which is how I am here working as an apprentice.

2. What made you want to work at Cardiff Bus?

I really enjoyed my work experience here and I wanted to stay long term.

3. What does a normal day in your current role look like?

When I come in, I handle drivers’ defects to make sure that the vehicles are safe to operate before they go out for the day. This involves recording the condition of the bus, screen washing and ensuring the battery is safe for operation. I then shadow a mentor for the rest of the day, so my role varies depending on what I am doing with my mentor that day.

4. What are the areas that you work on?

I mainly work in the engineering sector of Cardiff Bus but sometimes I go out and assist with breakdowns and I’ve also worked with some electrical elements.

5. What is your favourite part of training so far?

My favourite part of my apprenticeship is being independent, this has resulted from my mentors seeing how I have performed and allowing me to work more independently when they have seen that I can do the work without constant supervision.

6. Who do you work with?

I have a few mentors who change each day, so every day is different and it’s good because I can see and work in different areas here.

7. How would you describe the support you have received at Cardiff Bus?

The support I’ve received at Cardiff Bus has been really good, everyone is really friendly and always willing to help. Ross especially has been a really good teacher.

8. What would you like to do in the future?

I would like to stay at Cardiff Bus in the future working as an engineer.

9. Would you recommend an apprenticeship to other people who wish to become an engineer?

I would definitely recommend doing an apprenticeship at Cardiff Bus because you learn on the job and it’s a great way to gain experience in the industry, it’s a good trade to be in.

 

If you are interested in working with us, visit our careers page to find out more about how you can apply and what you’ll get from working at Cardiff Bus. We would love to hear from you!