MP Skills issues new call for apprentices
Employers called upon to enrol apprentices on to 2024 Mobile and Static Plant Operator cohorts
EDUCATION and training provider MP Skills has issued a new call to employers within the mineral products sector to enrol their apprentices on to the 2024 cohorts for mobile and static plant operators due to begin this spring, summer, and autumn.
The Ofsted-rated ‘good’ level-two apprenticeship provides a hybrid curriculum of both on-site and classroom learning, with expert mentors to regularly review progress and ensure the apprentices are on track. The 18-month programme ends with an approved End Point Assessment provided by the relevant provider.
MP Skills has a proven history of apprentices who have rapidly progressed in their careers and upskilled their employers’ workforce having taken the mobile and static plant operators’ apprenticeship.
MP Skills general manager Neil Peacock said: ‘We know the safety, health, and environmental focus that goes toward the production of materials and products within our industry. Having skilled, safety-aware, mobile and static plant operators contributes greatly to the overall running, culture, and profitability of our businesses.
‘Our apprenticeship not only covers the statutory requirements, but also develops the apprentices as people, getting them to think more effectively and experience different working environments to discover best-practice working methods that they can use in their daily roles.’
As noted by Ofsted, the course benefits from having senior leaders who use their extensive industry experience to select the course content that is most useful to apprentices.
Simon Smith, operations director at Longwater Gravel, describes his experience of the apprenticeship: ‘As an SME, we know that investing in our employees by providing them with high-quality training and assessments for which they gain nationally recognized qualifications is vital to the success of the business.
‘Apprenticeships are a much-enhanced investment; for example, the Mineral Processing Mobile and Static Plant Operator Apprenticeship, developed and delivered by the team at MP Skills, includes a fantastic programme of training which not only ensures that apprentices become competent operators, but also enables them to gain a much wider understanding and appreciation of the industry and all the opportunities it has to offer.’
Sharan Ghattora, HR project manager for Day Group Ltd, added: ‘The apprenticeship is a pathway to encourage employees to grow while working on the job and getting first-hand experience. It has been a pleasure to watch two of our apprentices, Stephen and Dexter, grow over the past 16 months and develop more enhanced skills via the programme, which has most certainly developed their confidence in what they do every day.
‘Prior to completing the apprenticeship, both were more production orientated but now they are much more focused all round and more alert on other areas of the job. We have enjoyed helping them through the apprenticeship programme and, as a result, we have now onboarded two additional apprentices that we’re currently supporting.
‘Working alongside MP Skills, the provider for this apprenticeship, has been a great experience, and building a relationship with them also made the journey much easier for us. They have been very accommodating and have supported us and our learners throughout the programme.’
MP Skills is currently mentoring its ninth cohort since 2019, with 31 apprentices currently on the programme, working with eight companies. For further information and to reserve places for any of the 2024 cohorts, call Charlotte Richardson on: 0115 983 5755; or email: charlotte.richardson@mpskills.co.uk
