Chloe Ferguson is working towards an Association for Project Management (APM) qualification with engineering firm Forth after impressing during a recent apprenticeship.

The 19-year-old joined the company in 2019 as an apprentice in customer service, and she is now forging an exciting career in engineering after showing great enthusiasm and a desire to learn new skills across all aspects of the industry.

Chloe was looking for employment opportunities as an alternative to going to university and is now being given the responsibility to start leading on some of the company’s world first innovations.

She says: “WHEN I was in sixth form, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do but I knew I didn’t want to go to university.

“I studied English Language, Science, Health and Social Care and an Extended Project Qualification at Workington Academy, but I started to think about other options.

“I applied to Gen2 to do a Customer Service and Administration apprenticeship, and I had an interview with engineering company Forth and they offered me the position with them.

“What I found when I started the apprenticeship was that you ‘find yourself’ in the working world compared to when you’re at school as you’re more independent and working with adults, rather than surrounded by your friends.

“I started with Forth in August 2019 but we went into lockdown in March 2020 and that made the course a lot different to when I first started.

“The end point assessment for the course usually involves people coming into work to watch you with the customers, but that had to be done over Teams and that was a bit of a weird experience.

“After passing the course, I really wanted to stay on because I enjoyed my time there so much.

“Mark Telford, who is the director of Forth, asked me what I wanted to do and I told him that I didn’t really want to do business admin, so he asked if I wanted to do a project management course.

“My uncle is in project management so I asked him for advice, and he said I should go for it and I was really excited to give it a go.

“While I was doing the customer service apprenticeship, I sort of knew what Forth did because I was dealing with customers on a daily basis but I also didn’t know everything that we did, if that makes sense?

“Now I’m working on the engineering side of things, I think it’s crazy just what work is being carried out here!

“All the Research and Development projects worked on at Forth and the developments working with the Innovate UK Group are things that haven’t been done anywhere else before, and it’s amazing to be part of it all.

“What is so inspiring is that the team is always trying to come up with solutions that haven’t been thought of, and you come up with ideas to see if that can solve the issues.

“You get to work with other companies from across the UK and Europe on these ideas, and it is such fascinating work.

“With the projects we have on at the moment, I have been working closely with Programme Manager Chris Downham and he has been showing me the ropes and supporting me with the work.

“But on the CHIMERA2 project - a semi-autonomous robot which is being designed for internal vessel inspection, repair and maintenance - he has basically said ‘this is your baby’ and he is allowing me to lead the project, but with his support to lean on.

“I am allowed to experiment and try new things here and that means there is a lot of variety with the job, and I’m enjoying working on all aspects of the business. I have already learned so much, and I’m looking forward to developing these skills further.

“I am being given excellent support to develop my learning, and I can’t wait until the day when I am at a stage where I can lead on projects here.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given, and I’m really enjoying learning while working at such an incredible company.

“It would have been the logical step to do the business administration course after my customer service apprenticeship, but the team acknowledged that I wanted to learn more about the engineering side of the business and they have given me the chance to develop my career here.”