When our apprentices start with the company, they are instantly on a developmental journey, learning about engineering, the industry, and our tools. However, they are also required to work in multi-disciplined teams, making decisions, communicating on various levels, problem-solving and dealing with challenges, perhaps even leading and supporting younger apprentices.
As their employer, we are responsible for ensuring that journey is the best it can be, arming them with the necessary skills to help them progress in their career and life.
Rather than developing these skills over time in the workplace, we decided to take a different approach. One that would help them find their strengths, figure out how they could overcome their weaknesses, developing a wide range of skills to take back into the workplace. For example, gorge walking in relatively high water levels, looking after the safety of your team; rock climbing, stepping out with comfort zones and overcoming fear; and raft building, making decisions and communicating to build a structure that wouldn't sink....testing it out on a lake to prove you can do it!
So, we sent one of our apprentices out into the wild. Lee Smith, our Apprentice Workshop Technician, spent a week at the Outward Bound Trust, Eskdale Centre with a group of other apprentices from Heller Machine Tools UK on an apprentice learning and development programme. They explored different team-working behaviours and how they impact others, understanding effective communication techniques and how they can make a difference when working in a team, developing decision-making processes, and how to deal with problems and challenges.
Here is Lee's feedback from his experience: "the week at Outward Bound was nothing short of amazing. Throughout the course, I overcame a lot of challenges. It opened my mind to workplace behaviours and a way to understand emotions, as well as taking back a lot of skills to use in the workplace like communication styles, team-working styles and leadership. All the staff were so welcoming and explained everything really well. If anyone gets the chance to attend an outward bound course, I highly recommend it, it is an incredible experience."
Blair McCombie, Managing Director comments; "The Outward Bound Trust provides an excellent platform to allow engineers in the early stages of their careers to develop the soft skills necessary to be the best version of themselves in the workplace. It is clear from Lee's experience that each activity stretches their abilities, giving them greater self-awareness and the confidence to make decisions and communicate better with teammates, as well as helping them develop skills that the company will benefit from for years to come."
