High Profile Kick Off to 2018!
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Issue No. 41 Winter 2017/18 High profile kick off to 2018! 017 has closed and 2018 is well underway and all the new challenges that it 2 will bring. Some great New Year news for all the 2014 entry apprentices, they have all now completed their NVQ3 portfolios of evidence of competence and had them finalised by their assessors. They have then been internally verified for compliance and I’m pleased to say that completion apprenticeship certificates have been requested and received. The successful apprentices are x5 from Springfields, x2 from NNL, x2 from Victrex and x1 from F2 Chemicals Ltd. They are all in line to be retained by their employers and deployed as skilled personnel in their various engineering teams National Skills Academy Nuclear (NSAN) celebrated to mark 10 years of providing a dedicated service to the nuclear industry, culminating in a celebratory lunch reception at the House of Lords, hosted by Lord Hutton of Furness. The event was heavily attended by key industry contacts from employers and providers including Westinghouse as well as key stakeholders and government representatives. The reception was also used to unveil a new look NSAN logo. A number of members who had been with NSAN for the full 10 years since its inception were presented with Keith Tidmarsh on the balcony at the House special certificates to mark their dedication to the skills agenda. of Lords after receiving NSAN 10 year Established in 2007, NSAN has spent the past decade working with nuclear membership certificate employers, training providers and other strategic stakeholders to provide solutions to skills needs. Local MP for Fylde, Mark Menzies, paid a flying visit to Springfields recently to learn about the potential opportunities available to apprentices, and the importance of apprenticeships for the future growth of Westinghouse, including our Small Modular Reactor (SMR) new build aspirations, and for the retention of key engineering skills in the local economy. 2016 entry degree apprentices Lloyd Woodhouse, Katie Keighley, Robert L to R Jack Fleetwood (Victrex) chats to Harrison and Callum Page joined young engineers Dan Ainscough, Dan Brian Nixon and Mark Menzies during the Nightingale and Jonathan Sutcliffe on a masterclass learning programme on lean MP’s visit principles and improvement techniques hosted by the Site Improvements Manager Steve Cooper. The programme was conducted over 3 weeks in EURRP in December 2017. Steve used the backdrop of the actual live plant running conditions and data to set the intrepid participants the task of mapping the process and analysing the data through to improvement recommendations using his taught techniques. The engineer’s data analysis was fed back to the plant managers and at the managing directors monthly keynote, the exercise and findings were well received. Their project concluded there was a potential £1.4m uranium saving if some of the identified improvement ideas were further investigated and implemented. Keith Tidmarsh Apprentice Training Manager i, welcome to the Winter Edition of the ASA Safety News, I hope you are all well and are keeping safe. H I just want to give you a quick update on our recent discussions within the Safety Improvement Team (SIT), the SIT meets on the first Wednesday of every month and we have been discussing a whole range of safety matters and topics, all of which is helping us to develop an understanding and knowledge of safer working practices which includes the many safery standards and regulations which is needed for us to work safetly in. We have just recently begun preparing and working on another presentation for the Lancashire Operational Health and Safety Group Conference which is taking place at Ribby Hall in March. Wish us luck and watch this space….. With regards to the ASA the Annual Apprentice trip overseas is coming up and this year once again we are off to Bruges . This is a fantastic experience for anyone traveling to this lovely city but I just want to remind everyone to ensure that they have the correct travel insurance necessary before going away. As a minimum you should have an E111 card, however I would strongly advise getting some travel insurance this is invaluable should you have an accident or fall ill on the weekend away. Enjoy and keep safe. Stuart Lamb ASA Chairman of Safety Improvement Team Nuclear Safety Culture - Employee Behaviour irstly I would like to thank everyone who took part and purchased raffle tickets in the Christmas draw which was held in December 2017. We managed to raise well F over £1000 for our site chosen charity, which is Kidneys for life. This couldn’t have been done without the commitment of all the Apprentices who took park in one way or another either selling tickets in Costa and/or walking around site building to building. I would also like to congratulate the prize winners, Janet Stevenson’s ticket was drawn by Damian Holohan, head of Unite Union, she was lucky winner of the main prize the Apple iPad Air. As always there were some good prizes on offer including an iPad air, Fitbit, Amazon Dot and four x £50 shopping gift cards. The raffle was once again a great success due to the continued support of all the employees on site. Janet Stevenson receives her winning prize of the iPad Air from Susan Walker, Site Training Manager The ASA has also held its yearly Christmas social event, this took place at The Café bar which is located in Preston. There were over 25 apprentices which attended the night which was enjoyed by all. The ASA is currently in the process of arranging a trip to Bruges. This will take place in early March and there has been a lot of interest expressed in this trip. The trip will consist of an overnight ferry crossing from Hull, a day in Bruges and the ferry back. It was thoroughly enjoyed last year when we went to Amsterdam and it is hoped that this will trip will be just as good! Another social event which is currently being arranged is Go-karting, this is should be taking place in February and already has gained a lot of interest. Matthew Kehoe ASA Chairman Hello, I would like to introduce myself, my name is Lloyd Woodhouse and I am a 2nd Year Degree Apprentice with Springfields Fuels Ltd. In January of this year I was approached by Keith Tidmarsh and asked if I would like to ‘step-up’ and represent Springfields as an ‘Apprentice Ambassador’ as part an initiative devised by the Lancashire Work-Based Learning Executive Forum (LWBLEF) for its members. The LWBLEF is committed to supporting its members to provide the highest quality of Work-Based learning opportunities to young people and adults within the workforce to the benefit of employers and the wider society in Lancashire. Their intention is to establish Work Based Learning as a valid and recognized route of choice into Higher Education or career progression. My role as an Apprentice Ambassador is to share my experience, knowledge and any skills I have gained along the way with other young people and adults at events running in and around Lancashire over the next year. This will consist of preparing presentations for delivery within schools to help motivate, inspire and encourage other young people to join apprenticeship schemes, I will also be attending Careers Fairs to help promote apprenticeships of all levels in schools and colleges across Lancashire As the Apprentice Ambassador Network spans the whole of Lancashire, seminars and networking events are held to allow apprentice ambassadors from all over Lancashire meet and talk about their experiences. One aspect of the ambassador role is to talk to companies about the benefits of taking apprentices into their business. The opportunities from this consist of promoting apprenticeships as a whole but also promoting Westinghouse and the range of apprenticeships they offer. I am very much looking forward to this next year and look forward to giving you an update in the Spring 2018 Newsletter Edition. Lloyd Woodhouse Springfields 2nd Year Degree Apprentice What does an Ambassador do? Share the experience, knowledge and skills of being an Apprentice and talk positively and honestly about your Apprenticeship journey to inspire others. Champion and promote the benefits and opportunities that Apprenticeships provide to young people, teachers and parents. Motivate, inspire and encourage young people to make an informed decision about their future. Act as a role model to promote and encourage diversity within Apprenticeships. Proactively promote Apprenticeships to employers to highlight the benefits of recruiting apprentices and encouraging them to offer high quality Apprenticeship opportunities to young people. Attend schools events and careers fairs to promote Apprenticeships, and delivering presentations to school assemblies or at events/conferences. Promote progression to Advanced and Higher Level Apprenticeships. Supporting young people considering an Apprenticeship. Act as the voice of young people - a sounding board for consultations on the future direction of Apprenticeships etc. What support will an Apprenticeship Ambassador receive? Undertake a training and induction course into the Apprenticeship Ambassador programme. Be provided with a resource pack of materials to present the information to schools. Be able to share their experiences and learn from other Apprenticeship Ambassadors. Have access to ongoing training to support their Ambassador role. Be part of a network of Ambassadors across Lancashire and the North West. What is the commitment? An ambassador should be able to commit to supporting around 3 activities per year. We ask that Ambassadors sign up for a minimum of a year, however they can be an Ambassador for as long as they wish. The network meet altogether twice a year, the network's board made up of volunteer Ambassadors meet four times a year.