My name is Katie Sweet, and I am an Apprentice Maintenance Engineer at the Jacobs Douwe Egberts coffee factory in Banbury. I spent my first year of the apprenticeship at college learning different skills like welding and turning, and then for the last 6 months I have been working at the factory. In JDE Banbury, we cover a range of jobs like fabrication, stripping down and reassembling equipment as well as working on maintenance.
I think my favourite part of the apprenticeship so far has been the opportunity to try new skilled equipment. It’s has been so interesting to try these new skills and develop them. I’m still astounded at the knowledge I have gained and the things I am able to do and now create. Not only have I gained new skills and knowledge at the factory, it’s also helpful to be regularly supported by a mentor who helps my personal and professional development.
I chose to apply for the apprenticeship because I have always been interested in how things work and why they work the way that they do. I wanted to get a career that I could pick up skills that will benefit me at work but also in my personal life. The apprenticeship up to now has been so interesting, and I feel like I have learnt such a huge amount in the year and a half I’ve completed so far.
I would absolutely recommend applying for an apprenticeship if you’re considering it. You have so much to gain from applying, it’s such an interesting and rewarding apprenticeship and can set you up with a career for the rest of your life.