James Sydenham, otherwise known as Jimmy, joined Packaging Automation as an Electrical Apprentice in 2012, this is Jimmy’s Apprenticeship story…
I chose to go for an Apprenticeship mainly because it involved hands on work and on-the-job experience as opposed to just classroom learning.
Being an Apprentice at PA I was able to experience working in all parts of the business, before focusing on the electrical side towards the end of my Apprenticeship. This really helped me to achieve a further electrical qualification, outside of the framework, during the same timescale.
I enjoyed working with and learning from other experienced engineers and seeing different techniques put into practice, something that cannot be replicated in a classroom.
For anyone thinking about taking the Apprenticeship route I would say go for it, the experience is invaluable, there is lots of potential for progression and you can earn whilst you learn!
In 2020, I was awarded Packaging Automation Employee of the Year whilst in my current role as a Service Engineer where I travel around customers’ sites installing, servicing and repairing PA machinery.