We’re thrilled to celebrate our apprentices Connor and Finlay, who have both just passed their forklift training and marked their one-year anniversary at ISF. Check out their Q&A’s below to learn more about their experiences at ISF so far!

Connor:

How have you found the first year of your apprenticeship at ISF?

It’s been great! I have learned so many new skills in this first year.

What have you learned so far?

I have learnt lots of new technical information and skills within welding and fabricating and have also learned to think outside the box with figuring out how to complete a task when it may not be going my way.

What has been the highlights/your favourite part of the role?

The best part has definitely been when I’ve been able to look back on tasks I have completed and be proud of the work I have produced.

What are you looking forward to in the rest of your apprenticeship?

Expanding my knowledge further and taking on more technical and challenging tasks.

How do you think the apprenticeship will help you with your future career?

It will give me the skills and knowledge I need to be able to work in the industry, but also the confidence to be able to work alone and do a great job!

 

Finlay:

How have you found the first year of your apprenticeship at ISF?

This first year has been great. It has allowed me to finally use my practical skills that I learnt during my time at college and build on them with real applications, on proper jobs.

What have you learned so far?

During this year I have learnt much more about the processes to weld and fabricate components, how to understand more complex technical drawings, and how to operate machinery – including a forklift!

What has been the highlights/your favourite part of the role?

So far, besides my welds becoming visually and physically better with the MIG machine, practicing TIG has been enjoyable in the downtime between jobs as it is a very difficult but rewarding experience. Learning to operate a forklift has also definitely been a highlight!

What are you looking forward to in the rest of your apprenticeship?

I am really looking forward to being coded for MIG in the upcoming months. This will mean I can work on larger and load bearing parts all by myself.

How do you think the apprenticeship will help you with your future career?

This apprenticeship will help me a lot in the future thanks to the wide variety of skills I’m learning. I will be able to carry them with me for life. And just over half a decade of practical experience will set me up really well for the future.