Starting an apprenticeship during a pandemic – Ellie’s story

We spent some time chatting with Ellie Longworth, our business administration apprentice, based at our Cargo Fleet, Middlesborough office. Ellie joined the business a year ago and has recently completed her first course.

Ellie, thank you for sparing the time to join us today and telling us about your Altrad journey to date.

How have you found things since you joined Altrad?

It was an unusual beginning for sure, but I have learnt so many things and I have met a variety of people from different parts of the business, all of whom have made me feel comfortable and really welcome. The opportunity to speak to these people has given me an insight into their roles and how every role contributes to the bigger picture here at Altrad. The people have helped me hugely – when it comes to asking for guidance or support, I feel confident enough to do so, as it’s such a friendly environment. To be honest, I have loved every minute of being a part of the team, learning new things and I hope to continue to do this in the future.

It’s great to hear that you’ve settled well. How has Covid-19 impacted your first year with us?

Covid-19 has had an impact, which has caused us to reschedule some  of the face to face external training, which has been replaced by other internal online training. All my colleagues, especially Lisa Newell and the admin team, have gone out of their way to ensure I learn as much as I possibly can internally, whilst following all necessary guidance and precautions. My studies were not impacted at all, as the sessions that would have originally been done face to face with my tutor have been carried out remotely. This has allowed me to complete my level 2 at the expected time with no setbacks, and I have now progressed onto level 3!

I was only here for a month before the Covid-19 restrictions were implemented, and whilst this has reduced the number of people I have got to meet in person, those that I have met, have all been amazing – helping and supporting me at every opportunity.

That’s great progress so far. What’s next on your career development agenda?

I feel very fortunate to be in the position I am – I am looking forward to achieving my level 3 to a high standard – fingers crossed! I’d then like to gain full time employment with Altrad and undertake as many training opportunities as possible, to become the best version of myself I can be.

Do you have any final comments that you’d like to share with the readers of this blog?

I would like to give a special thanks to everybody at the Cargo Fleet office for all the support and advice they have given me this past year – for taking time out of their busy schedules to get to know me. In particular, I would like to say a special thank you to Lisa Newell, for not only helping me with my day to day tasks and training, but also for being a friend. Lisa has been amazing, and I can’t thank her enough for everything she has done for me.