Months of hard work, some of it in his own time, have paid off for our Level 2 Supply Chain Warehouse Operative Apprentice Warren Booth, who has been awarded a distinction.
Warren, who works in our Fittings warehouse, first started with us on a government-funded, eight-week traineeship, from which he emerged with flying colours to land his apprenticeship.
Fifteen months later and Warren learned of his achievement following his final observation by an independent assessor, who put him through his paces on manual handling, health and safety, and workplace systems and processes.
During his apprenticeship, Warren studied warehouse practices and processes; using warehouse equipment, machinery and vehicles; basic IT skills and communicating effectively with colleagues, customers, third party carriers and other organisations.
He says: "I was hoping for a distinction, so I'm really pleased. I've been working hard here and at home in the evenings.
"I've been given more responsibility as time has gone by - now when a supervisor is off I sometimes cover for them dealing with the sales team and customers, picking special orders and doing stock adjustments.
"Starting on the traineeship and then doing the apprenticeship has helped me to learn quickly. Overall, I'd say apprenticeships can really help you progress and achieve. It can be time-consuming, but it is worth it in the end."
And Warren's success has come as no surprise to his manager, Paul Boyes, Warehouse and Logistics Manager, who says: "I only came in to the Fittings warehouse late last year, so Warren was new to me, but I wouldn't have thought he was an apprentice - his skill set was far higher than I would have anticipated, especially in the Fittings department which can be quite challenging with lots of different products and processes.
"Warren's been prepared to work hard, even working at home, and it shows."
And since landing his apprenticeship, 19-year-old Warren from Fitton Hill has become a dad with partner Isabelle giving birth to baby boy Vincent, fondly known as Vinny, seven months ago.
He says: "I already knew my partner was pregnant when I first got the job, so I was very grateful to get it, but it also made me more determined to make a success of it. I now want to carry on and see how high I can go."
Warren is one of five apprentices shaping their careers with us - the others being:
- Level 3 Content Creator Tony K, who was named Apprentice of the Month by his training provider late last year.
- Accounts Assistant Olivia Saint-McCormick, who has just started her 18-month Level 3 Accounting and Finance qualification.
- Ellis Smith who is working on his Level 2 Maintenance and Operations Engineering Technician apprenticeship before moving on to the Level 3 qualification.
- Level 2 Furniture Manufacturer apprentice Ellie Shepherd - HPP's first female apprentice in a shopfloor role.