Bobby Ricci – Case Study
My path from a Trainee CAD Operative to a fully qualified Mechanical Technician was assisted with the help of STEGTA. Before I began my apprenticeship I had worked for 5 months as a Trainee CAD Operative for a Joinery Company. During this period I attended college on day release studying City & Guilds Levels 2 & 3 in 2D Computer Aided Design (CAD), whilst also working in a small office drawing up basic designs.
Following redundancy from this job, I decided that I wanted to add more qualifications to my CV whilst also utilising the CAD skills I already possessed. Having previously contacting STEGTA whilst at high school when I was considering my career choices, I took the option of re-contacting them again to see what they could offer. With the help of STEGTA, a job opportunity was found in a multi-disciplinary design consultancy in Manchester City Centre called URS (formerly DGP International). A training plan was drawn up between STEGTA and URS and I would work full time in the office as a Trainee Mechanical Technician within the Building Services Department whilst being given one day per week release to enable me to go to Trafford College and study on the Buiding Services National Certificate. On this course I received ‘student of the year’ in 2008 which I was very pleased with. My CAD skills came into immediate use and I was able to slot staight into the department and work on ‘live’ projects. During this time I shadowed Senior Engineers and CAD Operatives, learning more about Building Services Engineering and Drawing Techniques enabling me to pick up valuable experience of the industry.
As part of my apprenticeship, STEGTA arranged for me to attend Trafford College on a part-time basis. This course introduced me to Building Services, teaching me the basic calculations and solutions that would be required within my job role. The knowledge I gained was put into use straight away as I was already working within the industry. In addition to working full time and attending college on day release I also had monthly reviews with my STEGTA training officer where I discussed the work that I was doing within the office and received advice on any problems I had; goals were also agreed which gave me something to work towards whilst carrying out my job role and helped me towards my NVQ qualification.
Following the completion of the Building Services National Certificate after two years, I progressed onto the Building Services Higher National Certificate also provided by Trafford College. This course was more in depth than the National Certificate and gave more work-based problems and solutions; some of which I had already encountered during my time working in the office at URS. After another 2 years of study I successfully completed the HNC in Building Services which made me a fully qualified Mechanical Technician. After having a years break from studying, I agreed with my line manager that the next step in my development would be to go on to University and improve my knowledge to work towards the next level on my career path. I am currently in Year 1 of 4 at the University of Central Lancashire studying Building Services and Sustainable Engineering on day release and still working for URS on a full time basis; I am involved in large-scale projects putting the knowledge I learned with the help of STEGTA, Trafford College and from shadowing Senior Engineers into practice.
For more information about Apprenticeships with STEGTA please contact us on: 0161 877 4078.