To mark the end of National Apprentice Week, we thought we would catch up with some of our employees who started at Miller as apprentices to provide a first-hand insight into their experience and journey to where they are now.

The end goal of all our apprenticeships is to inspire the next generation of talented individuals in the construction industry. That is why we aim to provide the highest quality apprenticeships – to Miller standards – to equip them with the knowledge and experience they need to be successful and progress in their career. We pride ourselves on having eight out of ten of our workshop team leaders start their careers as an apprentice with Miller and on average we retain over 80% of apprentices across the full business.

Our Business Improvement Leader, Stephen Brown joined Miller 33 years ago as a Welding and Fabricating Apprentice and has since worked his way into our Senior Management Team. Stephen commented: “From the day I started at Miller I felt supported enough to step outside of my comfort zone, which really gave me the opportunity to widen and develop my skillset. I remember the day I passed my apprenticeship and the sense of pride and achievement that I felt, which just motivated me to keep going, and alongside the support from Miller is why I am where I am today.”

Over the years, our apprentices have branched out into a number of different roles across the business and without them we would not be able to operate so efficiently. For example, Phil Bush, our Operations Manager, joined as a Welding and Fabricating Apprentice in 1993. Fast forward 20 years, and Phil now oversees all operations involved in the production of our attachments. Phil added: “I think apprenticeships are a fantastic way to learn on the job, you get to experience all the necessary skills to succeed in your role in the exciting fast-paced environment of a real business. I still use the skills I gained during my apprenticeship in my role now which really shows the value these apprenticeships can have.”

We also have Mark Amos – Miller’s Robot Team Leader – who started his career almost a decade ago – completing his apprenticeship in fabrication and welding. Mark said: “I was late to start as an apprentice, being 22, however I wanted to take this route as I knew it would lead to me having a trade and offer career progression within that. TDR, the training provider Miller works with really supported me to get on the apprenticeship and I have learnt some invaluable skills over the years. At Miller I am a valued team member and would highly recommend an apprenticeship with the business.”

Supporting our employees with career progression is something we pride ourselves on, which is something that Ryan Pattinson has experienced first-hand. Ryan joined Miller in 2016 as a Welding and Fabricating Apprentice and now manages a full team of service engineers as Site Services Team Leader. “To be in a position where I’m now mentoring and supporting apprentices after starting as an apprentice myself feels like a huge achievement” Ryan said. “I hope that I can pass down what I learned during my apprenticeship and give the opportunities that I was given to help my team reach their full potential.”

As one of the world’s leading attachment companies, we understand that it’s our people make us who we are today and we believe strongly that the future success of the company is down to empowering and investing in our people, something that we aim to achieve through our apprenticeship scheme.

To find out more on how to join the Miller team head over to our vacancy page – Careers | Miller UK Ltd (millergroundbreaking.com).