Life as an Apprentice at Travis Perkins with Lucy Wilks.
We asked Lucy a few questions about why she chose Travis Perkins over any other company offering apprenticeships and what challenges did she have to overcome.
What made you choose an apprenticeship with Travis Perkins over other companies?
They have a wide selection of Apprenticeships; they offer a great career path and a competitive salary, and they are for every age. They also employ you full time, rather than like most companies where you do an Apprenticeship and then are advised there is no longer a job position available.
What apprenticeship did you take and why?
I completed a Level 2 Merchandising Apprenticeship - I was new into the building merchant industry and wanted to learn more regarding merchandising.
Were there any challenges during your apprenticeship?
Completing my maths exam, I would say was the only challenge for me, due to my maths skills not being the best. One other challenge I would say people could face is ensuring that you make time for your apprenticeship as well as completing your day-to-day role as Travis Perkins do not expect you to complete this at home, it is completing within your working hours and time is provided for you to do this.
What qualifications did you attain from your apprenticeship?
Level 2 Merchandising equivalent to 5 GCSE's, I am now looking at starting a Level 3 Business Administrator Apprenticeship within Travis.
Is there a particular question you get asked about apprenticeships?
The question I always seem to be asked is "𝐀𝐦 𝐈 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩" and the simple answer to that is absolutely not!
Travis Perkins have many apprentices of all ages completing Apprenticeships. I first joined Travis Perkins as an Apprentice at the age of 26, I then became a Yard Manager at my local branch, and I am now a Regional Recruiter within Travis Perkins.
There is a huge opportunity for a great career path within Travis Perkins as well as great development opportunities.
Here is a list of some of the Apprenticeship training programmes within Travis Perkins:
𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐞
𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫
𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭
𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬
𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞
𝐃𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩
As an extra bonus, you will still have a job at the end of your apprenticeship and Travis Perkins offer a competitive salary!
Here are some other reasons why you should consider an apprenticeship at Travis Perkins.
“Our programmes are delivered by our apprenticeship partners; whose teams ensure our colleagues reach their full potential. Colleagues are supported from day one by an Apprentice Coach who will deliver training, provide feedback on their progress and help them to define their future career plans.
Fully funded, and with no eligibility requirements to apply, you can join an Apprenticeship at any age. Apprentices spend 80% of their working week ‘doing the job’ and the rest of the time either work shadowing, online learning, attending regional workshops and individual coaching sessions or on assignment/project work.”
“We offer a wide range of programmes and levels suitable to the various roles within our businesses, opening up more opportunities for our colleagues. Apprenticeship levels work a little differently from typical academic levels, instead of GCSEs, A levels or bachelor’s degrees, apprenticeships levels are ranked in terms of Intermediate, Advanced, Higher or Degree.
You do not have to do the levels in numerical order though. Simply put, our apprenticeships are designed to make you an expert in your role with the opportunity to progress in that area or do the same level of apprenticeship in something different. Your career pathway is your own and doesn't need to be a straight line - we can help you pave it in whichever direction you want to take it.
So whether you’re looking for a career change, or you’re just starting in your career, discover some of the different apprenticeship programmes we offer below and how they can support you.”
View all Travis Perkins apprenticeships here: https://www.tpplccareers.co.uk/apprenticeships