Fabrication Apprentice Journey (Apprentice Diaries)

Written by Oliver Muscat on April 5th 2024

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We spoke to Saf, one of our Fabrication & Welding Apprentices on his overall experience so far studying at Rochdale Training and how he is developing.

How’s your course going so far?

I’m settling in to the college work now and getting into a good routine of learning. The past 7 months has gone by quickly and I’ve learnt things that I didn’t think I would in this short amount of time.

How's your relationship with your training provider?

My tutor Ryan, I knew beforehand as I did my welding boot camp at Rochdale Training before joining Exyte Hargreaves. I first learnt MIG welding in the boot camp. Making this an easy move to settle in. Ryan makes sure we are all working to our highest abilities. I’ve started my toolbox assessment piece. Which is working exactly from the drawings and following the tolerance and measurements through to the product. I have now completed my welding code so I’m now tacking up in our factory.

Is it a different environment at Rochdale Training and at work?

At Exyte Hargreaves I’m learning from a lot of skilled workers from different age groups. My mentor Matthew comes in to our factory, conducting monthly reviews with us. This is to check on our progress, what we’ve been up to and making sure we aren’t getting behind on tasks and learning.

How has it balanced with your day job?

Some work we do at Hargreaves is similar to what we are learning at Rochdale. For example making penetration plates. When I’m learning a new machine or weld with a skilled person through shadowing I will put that down as Off The Job. At the moment, I’m assisting a segment bend with one of our skilled welders (Chris Makin) who does the Fabrication and I do the tacking. Likewise at Rochdale Training I’m learning fabrication which will support my work at Hargreaves.

Does that help in your overall development?

It helps towards my development as it separates you from the work you are doing and the training. At Rochdale Training I can focus on the theory and my project. At Hargreaves I’m in the factory surrounded by many skilled operatives to learn from and work with. They both work in tandem to support my ongoing learning and keeping track of my progress.

What have you learnt that has been beneficial to the work at Hargreaves?

Everything I have learnt and done is mostly new to me. I had some background knowledge and learning but not in sheet metal and fabrication. Some things that have been beneficial to the work at Hargreaves is the marking and cutting up before the fabrication. Fabrication is something I want to improve on. Understanding the different specifications of drawings, keywords and material specification. With that, I’m also understanding the sizes, measurements and the different materials that we use at Hargreaves and at Rochdale.

I would say it's best to go towards the apprenticeship route. It can be difficult to earn nowadays so learning and earning at the same time is a bonus. Hargreaves really supports our apprentices as we deal with high integrity ductwork and we receive unique benefits. Some of our past apprentices have been working here for 50+ years which tells us new starters how this is a great place to to learn and advance your career in.

Ahmodul Hasan

Fabrication & Welding Apprentice

Track our Apprenticeship journeys

We are tracking the journey of all our apprentices throughout the weeks so make sure you look out for the upcoming stories on their course. For further information about careers and apprenticeships at Exyte Hargreaves, please visit our Careers section.

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