05 Feb 2024
The Department celebrates National Apprenticeship Week 2024
The Department is a keen supporter of apprenticeships and works in partnership with largely local training providers to give people fantastic opportunities to develop their career in a wide range of technical and professional areas.
The University of Oxford Apprenticeship Awards 2023, featuring Department winners Julie Meikle (Apprentice Manager Award), and Olivia Gaskin (Apprenticeship Ambassador Award) along with fellow winners from across The wider university and judges.
As part of National Apprenticeship Week (5-11 February) we are celebrating past and present apprenticeships within the Department of Engineering Science.
We typically support four to five apprenticeships at any one time, across a variety of teams. Our current cohort includes:
- 3D Print Apprentice
- 2x Apprentice Finance Assistants
- Manufacturing Engineering Degree Apprenticeship
We are also recruiting now for an IT Apprentice. Job Detail (ox.ac.uk)
Apprenticeships are an important part of the Department’s strategic workforce succession planning, and many apprentices have gone on to full-time roles in the Department. Olivia Gaskin initially undertook a Digital Marketing Apprenticeship and is now our Communications and Events Assistant. The previous IT apprentice, Alfie Smith, is now an IT Support Officer and a former Finance apprentice went on to become a Finance Assistant.
The Department sets high standards for its apprentices, supports them comprehensively, and undoubtedly plays a role in helping the University apprenticeship programme to be rated in the top 100 apprenticeship employers for the last three years. Adam Philip (HR Officer) is the Apprenticeship lead within the HR team, bringing extensive experience of supporting both apprenticeship recruitment and staff apprenticeships to the Department, and advising on these areas to support managers as they recruit and source the best training providers. Jarlath Brine (Staff Development Manager) has experience of setting up apprenticeship programmes and management support for apprentices and provides support for managers to manage their apprentices.
An indication of our commitment to apprenticeships is the many awards our Apprentices and Apprentice Managers have won. In 2017 the Department won the University’s Apprentice Manager’s Special Award for our 'long-term commitment to the promotion, development and recruitment of Apprenticeships across all sectors' and our 'open and inclusive approach to recruitment'. Individual award winners include Lewis Burke, who won the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire Young Engineer Award Best Apprentice (16-18) in 2018, Freya Cooke who won the Oxford University Apprenticeships’ Apprentice Manager Award in 2022, followed by Julie Meikle in 2023, and Olivia Gaskin who won the Apprentice Ambassador Award and Alfie Smith who won the Special Recognition Award in 2023. Laura Griffin, Purchase to Pay Manager in the Finance Team, was nominated by the training coordinator, Abingdon & Witney College, as Manager of the Month and won it for October 2023. This is in recognition of managers who go above and beyond to support their apprentice(s).
We will be celebrating apprenticeships and some of our apprentice’s experiences across our social media this week. Do look out for our posts!
