J S Wright associate director, Terence McLaughlin (left), mentors first-year design apprentice Peter Hamblen on the new J S Wright Experience course at the company’s Birmingham head office.
The J S Wright Experience will complement existing academic and work-based college courses to provide the company’s technical trainees with the all-round knowledge and skills to become high-flying corporate engineers.
Dedicated mentors from within the company, which has its headquarters in Birmingham and offices in Bristol and London, will guide and support the trainees in understanding and experiencing J S Wright’s values, processes and procedures, and help them develop their leadership and communication skills.
Over the four-year course each apprentice will follow a monitored schedule of working in different office departments, from contracts and design to aftercare, and on site in areas including commissioning, quality and health and safety.
They will also learn industry design regulations and become involved in supplier and manufacturer visits and client networking as stakeholders in the business, attend mandatory training courses, and carry out a yearly in-house project that will also provide evidence for college qualifications.
The J S Wright Experience is the result of consultation with academic qualification providers and former apprentices, who will also be able to take advantage of the programme to hone their managerial skills as mentors.
The concept of the programme has already led to J S Wright being nominated for the 2018 H&V News Training Initiative of the Year Award and contributed to nominations for this year’s Building Services Contractor of the Year and Domestic Heating Contractor of the Year awards.
Terence McLaughlin, J S Wright associate director and leader of the programme, said: “The J S Wright Experience is aimed at developing highly qualified, fully rounded technical engineers who want to succeed. It will provide the opportunity for technical apprentices to either go on to further education or set out on accelerated career paths with J S Wright.”
J S Wright is now in the process of devising a similar hands-on project-based experience programme for its craft apprentices.
With more than 35 percent of its workforce made up of current and former apprentices, J S Wright has been leading the industry with its successful Apprentice Academy supported by staff and suppliers for the past 10 years.
Marcus Aniol, J S Wright managing director, added: “Our high-quality apprentices are a key component of our future and this new programme will ensure that our company remains the best in the business.”