Apprentices, George Herbert and Craig Fox, both decided to have a career change and try something new with our Apprenticeship Programme.
From finance to plumbing, George, worked for BMW for ten years and although he enjoyed the job, felt he wanted to give something else a go.
At aged 29, George thought he’d missed the boat with exploring different options. But following a relocation to Cornwall in Newquay with his partner James he applied for an apprenticeship in the hope he could do a more practical role.
George, said: “I applied for the apprenticeship just because I've always wanted to be a plumber and do something in trades. In my previous role I was at BMW, obviously a well-known car brand, for 10 years which was a complete change, but it's a good change.
“I moved to Cornwall and just wanted to have a bit more of a purpose. I get to meet people, go and do jobs for them and it just makes me feel nice really.
For George, going from working from home to interacting with people again has benefited him a lot.
He said: “I've only been doing it for three months now, but I've learnt so much, like what tools to use for certain jobs and at college we've learned how to bend pipes and different fittings.
“I didn't realise how many fittings they were in plumbing. It’s nice to come out and speak to everyone and see our different communities. Leaks has been probably a big one for challenges so far, I get a little nervous sometimes when you turn the water back on!
“LiveWest has been great. Obviously, it was a bit daunting for me coming from a company to a completely different one, but they're fantastic and they're supportive. They also have great benefits while you work here."
Craig started his career as a lifeguard working in the leisure industry and got to the level of a supervisor. After aspiring for a more hands-on profession, Craig, had always wanted to be in the trades industry but had never quite been able to make the career change.
But after spotting a plumbing opportunity paying the real living wage with us, he jumped at the change to enter his dream career.
Craig said: “Before I was working in the leisure industry and through the summers working with the RNLI as a beach lifeguard. I wanted to join because naturally those kinds of industries are quite tough to progress, especially for the leisure centre industry it.
“You don't really get much progression with that, and I like working with my hands. So naturally, I've always wanted to be in trades and this opportunity came up and I had to go for it.”
Craig appreciates the learning on the job aspect because it offers him career development compared with other industries where this can be difficult to do.
He said: “There's a lot of things that I had an idea about before within working in properties and trade, but not the specifics of it. I’ve gained a lot more knowledge about the upkeep of homes.
“LiveWest has been brilliant, they've been really accommodating. They've been really forward with help and anything that I've had queries or been unsure about within my role they've cleared up really well and they do look after you well too.
Craig is setting his sights on being a fully qualified engineer by the time he completes the apprenticeship.
Craig said: “If you’re thinking of applying for an apprenticeship, it sounds cliché, but just do it, just apply. Especially in the UK with such big shortages of trades you'll find work no matter what. And this is a really good separate thing to get all of that experience and help around you.
“I'm doing a career change, coming from the leisure and first aid world into a completely different area of trade, it's a career change for me. So, apprenticeships can definitely be for anyone.”
Discover our apprenticeship scheme and colleagues' stories throughout this week. Stay tuned for our Qualifications Event in May where we will be showing some more career achievements.