This week marks the 15^th annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships, with National Apprenticeship Week. Shining a light on the fantastic opportunities apprenticeships provide for both learners, employers and our economy, it’s also a time for us here at Civic Engineers to reflect on the contribution our incredible apprentices continue to make to the team.

This year’s theme for National Apprenticeship Week 2022 is ‘build the future’, reflecting on how apprenticeships can help individuals to develop the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career, and businesses to develop a talented workforce that is equipped with future-ready skills.

We couldn’t think of a better time than this week to chat with one of our very talented Apprentice Engineers, Alfie Brewster. Alfie joined us as an Apprentice CAD Technician based in our London studio back in 2017. Fresh out of Sixth-Form the month prior, Alfie hit the ground running with us and over the last four years has continued to grow, develop and become an integral part of our team.

Fascinated from a young age by architecture and megastructures, Alfie’s love of design flourished with the introduction of CAD software during his high school years. Opting for the apprenticeship route following his A-Levels, Alfie feels his choice to get hands-on training, put his skills into practice and earn a salary has been the best option for him and something he has never looked back from. Sharing more of his journey with us, he said; “Seeing an apprentice role advertised, I remember thinking a non-conventional route could actually be the best fit for me. I wanted to work as soon as possible and wanted to earn a wage so explored what my other options could be, aside from the traditional education system that would have been a full-time academic course at University. I’ve really enjoyed the structure of still having some of my working week being in college and now university, but alongside four days a week here with Civic Engineers.

“It’s been really rewarding and although still much to learn for me, I feel I’ve really benefited from having the job security and support of being part of the team here. Especially during the pandemic, I was still able to keep working and had more support day-to-day than I would have had if I’d have been on a traditional course. I’ve also made some valuable connections, both within Civic Engineers and the wider industry. There’s some misplaced stigma attached to apprenticeships, but I’d recommend it to anyone considering this path. For some people if they don’t quite achieve what they wanted to during school or college, they think that their options are suddenly limited. It’s really not the case, there are always options if you embrace the challenge and still go for it!

“Being an Apprentice does have some challenges, it involves a lot of plate spinning and sacrifice, studying and working at the same time, but the beauty is that I’m surrounded by a support system and a structure that helps me continue to develop, focus and move one step closer every day to graduating and working alongside the team, in a career I’ve always wanted.”

Think the apprenticeship route could be right for you? We currently have an Apprentice opportunity, based in our London studio, that we are now accepting applications for. You can apply directly via our LinkedIn page.

If you’d like to learn more about our apprenticeship opportunities across our other studios, you can reach out to our team by emailing recruitment@civicengineers.com