As National Apprenticeship Week kicks off, we’d like to start by shining a light on the brilliant apprentices who have been growing their skills as part of our Building Safety and Compliance team.

To get the scoop on what’s been happening in the team, we spoke to Paul Purkis, Compliance Manager at Magna, who told us all about the great work that the team have been doing.

The team was formed in 2022, and their ambition was always to invest in future talent in specialist areas that were facing national shortages. We had seven apprentices in our electrical and heating teams when the team was created, but since then:

  • All seven have successfully completed their apprenticeships and joined Magna in permanent positions 🙌
  • They’ve expanded their commitment by creating eight new apprenticeship opportunities across our electrical and heating services ⚡🔥
  • And the team have been looking into how we can create a more structured year-on-year apprenticeship model 🔎

Paul said:

“It’s our ambition to have apprentices in each stage of learning – so, in their first, second, third and fourth years – to help us develop and maintain a consistent pipeline of talent.
“This structured approach should mean we see fully qualified apprentices completing their training every year, providing Magna with a continuous stream of skilled, home-grown professionals when vacancies arise.”

Paul also told us that we’re above the national average for the proportion of apprentices who have stayed with us for five years after completing their apprenticeship – and we’re incredibly proud of our teams for the quality of support they provide to our apprentices. We know that there’s a national shortage of heating engineers and electricians, making it more important than ever for us to invest in apprenticeships.

Paul finished by saying:

“We work closely with three different colleges to make sure our apprentices get high-quality technical and academic training.
“And just as importantly, our supervisors and mentors play a critical role, guiding apprentices every day, shaping their technical competence, and helping them develop into confident, capable professionals.
“We are lucky to work with brilliant contractors who support our apprentices too, hosting them for aspects of their training that fall outside our core areas of work.”

The dedication shown by all our colleagues at Magna truly pays off too. Last year for National Apprenticeship Week, we spoke to Dylan Holmes, who was awarded the Weymouth College Apprentice of the Year award for his exceptional work. Since then, Dylan has completed his apprenticeship and joined #TeamMagna in a permanent position too.

We’re really proud of our teams at Magna for supporting our next generation of talent, and of all our apprentices for their enthusiasm and dedication to learning and supporting our customers too.

You can learn more about apprenticeships at Magna by clicking here.