Three people in safety gear walking through factory

Apprenticeships For All At Wienerberger

At Wienerberger we pride ourselves on offering employees from any department within our business the opportunity to learn more and better themselves, with apprenticeship schemes providing the ideal route for successful professional development.

But don’t just take our word for it! In celebration of National Apprenticeship Week (8^th - 14^th February 2021), read on hear from of our current apprentices who are doing an incredible job of balancing work life with studying for their qualifications.

Investing in our People

Over the last four years, Wienerberger has invested over £500,000 of apprentice levy deposits into developing our employees, with many more apprenticeships planned for the future. Thanks to backing from our Board and Senior Leadership Team, our management teams nationwide have been able to invest their time, finances and emotions into supporting our apprentices during their course.

Melvyn, Lead Operator

“When I heard about the opportunity to take part in an apprenticeship, I saw it as the ideal stepping stone to continue my career progression and learn something new. It has been so enjoyable visiting other Wienerberger sites and getting to meet new people. This apprenticeship has been my biggest achievement and the valuable knowledge I’ve gained will serve me well in the future, both inside and outside the workplace.”

Teaching Engineering Excellence

Following the introduction of the Government’s Apprentice Levy initiative in 2017, Wienerberger has continued its proud tradition of recruiting and developing engineering apprentices across our operational areas.

Not only have we expanded the number of new starters that we recruit, the focus of their development has also changed. Historically the recruitment, training and development was all managed locally and apprentices would remain at their local factory site for the entirety of their four-year programme, but we now have a programme that brings more apprentices together as a collective cohort, and a group that will grow together throughout their career with Wienerberger.

With an Apprentice Centre of Excellence being built at our Sandtoft site, an annual Outward Bound Week taking place in the Peak District, the expansion of our inhouse development programme and opportunities to get involved in real life projects, we are creating a learning experience for our engineering apprentices like no other!

Sven, Advanced Maintenance Apprentice (“West and East Midlands Rising Star” Apprentice of 2020)

“I chose Wienerberger over several other apprenticeship offers as they demonstrated real care and commitment to their apprentices. I am able to work with people who have years of experience and enjoy maintenance just as much as I do.

Engineering is all about solving problems, and the greatest lesson I have learnt is to consider all possibilities. There could be thousands of ways to solve a single problem, but experience, initiative and expertise all aid in making the right decision. I use this learning takeaway when dealing with every breakdown or maintenance job at work.

I believe that challenges provide the greatest learning curves, and the challenge of this apprenticeship will help me achieve my personal goal of becoming an excellent engineer. Thanks to this opportunity I can give my knowledge, expertise and hard work back to the business.”

Inspiring Future Leaders

Outside of engineering apprenticeships, our leadership programmes have seen around 65 colleagues from different areas of the business studying a leadership apprenticeship across a range of academic levels. The programme supports the continued professional development of existing managers whilst preparing them for their next step up, as well as introducing current non-managers to the basics of leadership and the required skills and responsibilities that leadership brings. As a result, several of our participants have secured promotions as reward for their endeavours both in and outside of the apprenticeship.

Jaymie, Control Systems Engineer

“Since joining the business I’ve always expressed my desire to progress within the organisation. The leadership apprenticeship scheme presented an opportunity to gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours to become an effective leader. My aspirations are set on becoming a future business leader where I can shape the development of others and have a greater impact on business performance.

The business strategy part of the course has allowed me to appreciate the importance of setting short, medium and long-term goals. As part of my financial module we were required to appraise the dynamics of a failing organisation and offer short, medium and long-term corrective actions. It helped me understand why a multitude of perspectives can be relevant to the situation and gave me the confidence to give and receive constructive criticism.”

Making A Difference

In addition to our leadership programme, there have been several successful functional apprenticeships gaining recognised qualifications within the fields of Human Resources, IT, Marketing and Finance. The opportunities within the apprenticeship frameworks are vast, and as anyone at Wienerberger can become an apprentice, the prospect of further development to enhance skills, knowledge and behaviours either within a current role, or a future aspirational role can always be explored.

Helen, Area Sales Manager

“The whole apprenticeship experience has been enjoyable and at times it has taken me back to my school days! It has been great meeting other members of the Wienerberger team who I wouldn’t have usually crossed paths with, and I’ve made some good friends along the way.

Each module of my leadership apprenticeship has helped me become a better version of myself. The skill of decision making was useful for me in my field sales role where I frequently need to make the right decision quickly.

My project management module helped me to create a document for my team we now use every day, saving us time and money. Hearing great feedback from my team, feeling that I’ve made a difference and contributing to the success of Wienerberger is very satisfying.”

If you are interested in apprenticeship opportunities at Wienerberger, please email Learning and Development for further information.