A South West Water Laboratory Manager is helping to support the next generation of apprentices, 37 years after completing her own apprenticeship.
Claire King, Laboratory Services Manager at the Countess Wear labs in Exeter joined South West Water 37 years ago, starting out in 1989 on a Higher National Certificate programme.
After completing the programme Claire climbed the ranks with positions as an Assistant, Technician, Scientist and then Senior Scientist before becoming Laboratory Services Manager in 2008.
Looking back at why an apprenticeship was a good move, Claire recalls: “I was learning on the job and getting qualifications with no debt and I was able to support my family at a difficult time rather than being away from home.”
Since completing her apprenticeship, Claire has been a strong advocate for the programme and has supported various apprentices at Countess Wear over the years, many of whom have continued working with South West Water and some still working within the lab.
Claire said: “I am so pleased the laboratory has been able to support many apprentices, including seven apprentices and former apprentices currently working here."
Meet Chris
One of those apprentices is Laboratory Scientist Chris Ormiston, who is coming to the end of a two-year Level 3 BTEC in Applied Science.
Chris previously worked in South West Water’s Customer Service team after completing a business and admin apprenticeship in 2012.Chris chose an apprenticeship because he liked the idea of being able to study for qualifications whilst being able to earn a salary to support his family.
He said: “I have a three-year-old at home, so learning at work is allowing me to access higher levels of education that would otherwise not be an option. It allows me to apply what I learn at college to my day to day role and vice versa.
Completing an apprenticeship has changed my life. You get experience whilst learning which has been massively valuable for me to solidify my learning. An apprenticeship has opened loads of gates for me and everyone has been so supportive and helpful.”
Meet Emily
Emily Lane started her apprenticeship in 2019, moving over from the veterinary industry, and worked at the Countess Wear lab for three years.
After completing the programme, Emily changed job roles, joining South West Water’s water quality team, working at water treatment works across the region and visiting customers within its supply networks to ensure the quality of customers’ water supplies.
Emily said: “I enjoy learning and developing my skills and knowledge, and felt this was a great way of doing this. I’m also a big people person, so to work alongside a big team when I started within the laboratory was a really nice experience for me. Apprenticeships can be hard work, but worth it. To be paid while you learn and develop skills is a great thing, and there are so many variations of apprenticeship roles now too.”