Aquaterra Energy, the specialist offshore solutions provider, has welcomed three new apprentices to its engineering team. The apprentices, all of whom are currently studying at Lowestoft College, were selected from around 80 students who applied to be considered for the roles. Nick Townshend, Work Based Learning Employer Services Manager (Engineering) of Lowestoft College
said: “Apprentice schemes such as this offer exceptional opportunities for students to gain invaluable hands-on work experience. The specialist engineering skills and capabilities of Aquaterra Energy’s team are in demand all over the world, meaning that these apprenticeships are highly sought-after by our students.”
Two of the new apprentices, Stuart Knight and Lee Grice, both mature students, are about to enter their final year at Lowestoft College, studying BTEC Level 3 Diplomas in Operations and Maintenance. They both plan to also complete an NVQ Level 3 in Mechanical Engineering during the coming year. Stuart and Lee are now working as apprentices within the Aquaterra Energy team for four days each week.
The third apprentice, Oliver Gardiner aged 19 years, has two years left to complete an Engineering Mechanical Maintenance Level 3 course. Oliver will be at Aquaterra Energy for four days each week while he completes his studies. All three of the apprentices have an interest in both mechanics and hydraulics and their apprentice training programme has therefore been designed to enable them to gain experience in both areas of the Aquaterra Energy business. To facilitate this, the apprentices will work on a three month rotation between departments. For all of them, the experience they gain and the work they complete at Aquaterra Energy will help them to excel in their required college assignments.
Patrick Phelan, Managing Director at Aquaterra Energy, said: “Our intention is for these apprenticeships to provide real and long-term career opportunities for the students and we look forward to planning their career progression with them, starting with full integration into the offshore team when they have completed their studies.”