Higher Apprentice - Operations Management Review

In my role as a higher apprentice in operations management I'm based in Tarmac's quarries, asphalt and concrete plant side of the business where my daily tasks and responsibilities are working with site management to learn and assist with the running of the site. This can include site inductions, contractor management, clearances to work including risk assessments, permits to work and being an isolation owner for the repairing and maintenance of our machinery. Internally I interact with site management, fitters and operatives. Externally I deal with contractors, hauliers transporting our products and other site visitors. I also have time to study, complete assignments for Derby University and complete any other training along with visiting different sites to see the processes. I also attend local schools and college promoting apprenticeships within Tarmac and the construction industry in general due to the opportunities the industry have.

I have learnt many new skills and developed existing ones since starting my apprenticeship. Tarmac are excellent at providing and organising training courses both internally such as annual fire safety and manual handling training along with other health and safety briefings and updates due to it being so important in our work places. Externally I have completed rail safety awareness training, isolation and stored energy, achieved my level 3 geotechnical training, introduction to quarry regulations course, risk assessment training, IOSH managing safely course and I'm to do my shot firing course and exam in the coming weeks. I have developed my communication and people skills further in the different industry as I had not worked in this industry before. Tarmac also run a core skills programme which we attend in our cohorts 4 times a year which looks at how we develop our professional skills in the workplace.

I thoroughly enjoy my apprenticeship programme due to the opportunities and support from who I work with as Tarmac realize the importance of developing young people in the business through it's apprenticeship schemes. I enjoy the training I'm given and the time I have to push my own development by being able to freely move around sites and different parts of the business to learn as much as I can on my time.

My programme is organised and structured well. The training team do an excellent job of organising the courses we need and plan them in advance with plenty of notice. The University of Derby programme is very well organised and the material they give us is excellent in how it relates to our role and industry. I have people I can ask for support if I required it and have regular meetings with my line manager, area manager and HR manager to review my progress every 6 months.

I receive the amount of support from my employer. My line manager is great and lets me push my own training and development how I feel comfortable with it. My mentor, a fellow apprentice in his second year, and I keep in touch and have regular catch ups on our development. I have a wide range of support networks that I'm aware of if I needed them.

University of Derby run a fantastic course where we attend with fellow apprentices from other companies in the industry. They have regular catch ups with ourselves and line managers to review our progress and keep my manager up to date with my results from my assignments. I enjoy attending the university and completing the work set by them due to it being relevant to my day to day role and the study materials being very clear and a great learning tool.

The qualification through my training provider helps me perform better as it gives a great basic understanding in my first year of the main processes and the theory behind how we do our work in our plants. This means I feel more confident especially in the industry as I have the background knowledge that I can then apply to my role and tasks day-to-day.

Yes, Tarmac encourage us to become members of the institute of quarrying and to attend their events throughout the year which is a professional networking event.

Yes

Due to the apprenticeship scheme that I'm currently on.

To not be put off by not having experience in the industry and if you are successful, make use of as much time as possible.