As part of celebrating National Apprenticeship Week, Furness College is putting the spotlight on some of its key partners to show how we work together to #BuildTheFuture through apprenticeships that meet the skills need of the future workforce in South Cumbria and beyond.

Colin Nash, learning and development advisor at Siemens Energy Subsea, says there are several benefits to bringing apprentices into the business but at the top of the list is securing a fresh perspective with new and exciting ideas.

“We bring in new apprentices who come with their own ideas and questions in mind,” he said. “We encourage young people with questioning minds who ask and show us that they’re interested.

“Apprentices will sometimes ask us why we do things a certain way, and we are more than happy as its good to be challenged, particularly as technology continues to move forward.”

He said Siemens Energy Subsea is moving towards digitalisation, so apprentices with skills including technology will play a key role in the future of the business.

“We train our apprentices in our methods and to our high standards which gives them certain skills and techniques, but we’re still looking for their ideas and input as they’re a real bonus to the business.”

Siemens Energy Subsea currently has 24 apprentices, who study Business Administration, Mechanical Engineering and IT at the Channelside campus while learning workplace skills at Siemens, and helps them to find the best fit for their future careers by looking to give them experience in many different areas of the business where it can be applied.

“Rotation is a key element for us where we can apply it, for apprentices. We don’t always know which path they’re going to take, so we try to give our apprentices different options which helps make them more adaptable.”