The next generation of energy workers: Jack Rourke

Prospect member Jack Rourke, 19, has just started the second year of his Chartered Management degree apprenticeship, where he is now learning and working with Westinghouse at Springfields Fuels.

I never got the chance to study business at high school, so I started doing it at college because I am quite interested in it. Business is quite a broad term and I wanted to find out what business actually means in the real world.

So, as college was coming to an end, I wanted to see if there were any apprenticeship options out there. I was set on doing a Level 6 apprenticeship because I wanted a degree, but without having to go to university, which doesn’t appeal to me.

I applied to a couple of others, including one at BAE, but this one appealed to me the most because it’s a placement programme. Out of the four years of the course, you spend eight months in six different placements around the site.

So, I’ll be spending eight months in finance, eight months in commercial, eight months in procurement and so on. This gives me the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience of different elements of a business.

Jack Rourke

Learning on the job

I’ve been at the workplace for more than a year now, and my first placement was on the production plant; it was a project management placement.

I was working with the engineers and plant managers to develop a Continuous Improvement Method to look at existing issues and then create a project plan to see how we can identify what’s going wrong, what we can do to fix them, and then, what will the long-term improvements be?

That was really good. I was getting experience, in terms of going out to look at equipment, communicating with engineers, getting more knowledge on the production plant side and then I could apply that knowledge to the project.

I got to converse with, not just the people in my office, but with people in different departments. I made new relationships, take a bit responsibility, and to lead in meetings, which is something I’ve never done before.

Currently, I’m in HR, so obviously this role is very different to my previous placement. But it’s also good and has given me a new insight into what goes on behind the scenes, some of the issues you might face and what you must deal with as a HR consultant.

What’s been good about the apprenticeship degree is that the university is making each of the modules relevant to the workplace.

We’re not just being taught out of a textbook – we have to provide workplace evidence of the things that we’re learning. I need to think about how I can apply, what I’ve just been taught, when I go to work.

We have educational tutors on site as well, that I will have monthly meetings with to make sure that my placements are working out, and that I am getting the right experiences that I need for each module.

The future

To be honest, I didn’t know too much about the energy sector until I came here so it’s been good to get an insight into that.

I’m not thinking too far ahead though, I’m just focusing on taking every day as it comes and making sure that I get the most of this apprenticeship.

In terms of what happens after, you are pretty much guaranteed a job. At the end of the four years, you’ll see what jobs are available across the company and apply for one, and you’ll have an internal interview.

It could be any sort of role, or in any department, just whatever is available and if it appeals to you.

Joining Prospect

As an apprentice you think you don’t need to be in a union because you’ve got enough support around you. That was my mindset at first too.

Then I had the chat with our local Prospect rep, and he explained the perks of being a member too.

So, although I don’t use Prospect for advice right now, the perks in terms of Prospect Plus and the advice and resources you can find on the website, I think it’s a no-brainer. Then, obviously, they are still there if I do need them for a work matter.