Celebrating apprenticeship success

HSM apprentice Xavier Cook is celebrating his success after passing his EAL Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Performing Engineering Operations. Xavier, who works as a General Welder at HSM alongside his training, undertook his End Point Assessment in January and passed with flying colours. 

Xavier’s apprenticeship training has been delivered in partnership with PETA Training, who we’ve collaborated with for many years. PETA assist us with the entire apprenticeship process, from apprentice selection and coordination of the programme, to classroom-based training delivery and providing support to get our apprentices successfully through their end point assessments.

Xavier joined HSM in April 2023 and immediately started the 18-month apprenticeship. This involved one day a week at PETA doing classroom-based learning, and four days a week at HSM undertaking on-the-job training in welding. Xavier started at PETA’s Cosham site learning about health and safety, including staying safe at work and manual handling. He later moved to PETA’s Havant site where he started his coursework on the three different welding processes and non-destructive testing.

Xavier said: “Richard Harvey was my instructor at PETA and he provided a great deal of support to ensure that we apprentices were up to speed as our previous instructor had left soon after we started. He worked hard to make sure that we were where we should be with our coursework, practical welding skills and testing of welds. He also provided interesting insights into the various avenues that welding could take you, and it was great hearing stories of his time welding offshore.”

Xavier has done particularly well in his training so far, and this was highlighted at the end of last year when he won the Metal Forming Machinery Makers’ Association’s (MMMA) Apprentice of the Year Award.

Xavier was nominated for the award by the management team at HSM, with collaboration from Richard. The nomination submission included information on what made Xavier stand out as an apprentice, what skills and successes he has achieved, how his new skills have been applied in the working environment, and testimonials from teachers/course leaders endorsing his skills and achievement.

Richard said: “I had the pleasure of meeting Xavier as one of my first groups to teach when I joined PETA. He was respectful and attentive as well as being a cheeky rogue. He took all tasks head on, his written work was to a very high standard, and his practical work was even better. He has good attention to detail and has no problem taking on the peer teaching role, helping his peers whenever he was asked to.”

Xavier also received support from HSM team member Mark Searle, who has been his mentor since joining HSM. Xavier said: “From the beginning Mark has been an excellent mentor, teaching me a range of skills. I’ve progressed so much in a short space of time due to the fact that Mark pushes me daily to become better and improve my skills. Seeing his commitment to teaching me is inspiring, and the more skilled I become, the more Mark challenges me by allowing me to undertake more technical tasks. Every day I arrive at work and somehow there is something new and interesting to learn! I look forward to continuing my career at HSM with Mark as my mentor.” 

Xavier is now thinking about his next steps and is keen to undertake further training. He is currently looking into Level 3 apprenticeship options and hopes to start soon. He’s considering a number of specialist welding fields and is also keen to get the CSWIP Welding Inspection training under his belt.

Xavier added: “An apprenticeship is the best way to gain experience and develop niche skills on the job that can't be taught in a classroom. Coming into the workshop every day and being able to interact with people with different skills and knowledge is far more interesting than classroom learning alone. My apprenticeship journey has allowed me to progress from an apprentice welder into a skilled welder and a valued member of the team, which is great.”

Get in touch to enquire about apprenticeship opportunities with us - we’d love to hear from you.

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