What makes a William Adams apprenticeship so special?
“We take extra care to make sure that our apprentices are a good fit for the trade and a good fit for William Adams,” said Tim O’Shea, the Technical Training Manager. “It’s important that they have the right attributes to make them a top technician!”
For William Adams this is much more than just their technical capability. A willingness to work as part of a team, a thirst for learning, and good interpersonal skills are also very important.
“William Adams has also made a commitment to a dual trade apprenticeship in both Mobile Plant and Auto Electrical,” said Tim. “We realised a couple of years ago that our new technicians would need both qualifications to be successful in the field. Customers need a timely repair solution and ensuring our technicians can problem solve across all areas
is a key part of that!”
The new apprentices will complete both apprenticeships within a 5-year period. Existing employees have access to undertake a second trade and many have taken up this opportunity.
The apprentice onboarding process starts well before the week-long induction. Apprentices are welcomed to each of the branches before they start and get to meet key team members and technicians.
They are sized up for new boots and uniform so that they feel part of the team on their very first work day. “The overall new starter experience is really important to us,” said Tim O’Shea. “We are a family-owned company and that family welcome is a critical part of who we are. That is why our induction week kick starts with a family BBQ.”
The Sunday Induction BBQ at Head Office in Clayton gives family members and partners of the apprentices a chance to mingle with William Adams team members and see where they will be working. This helps to build important relationships, answer any questions and smooth out any bumps that may come up during the first year of the apprenticeship.
Apprentices spend the first full week at the Clayton branch learning important safety training and familiarising themselves with workshop operations and safety. “Workshop hazard awareness is essential for our young apprentices. We want everyone to come home from work even better than when they left in the morning,” said Tim. “Our skilled Technical
Trainers help them understand what they can do to stay safe in a practical, meaningful way.”
Ongoing technical training is a vital part of apprentice and overall workforce development. William Adams has skilled in-house technical trainers who have a deep understanding of Caterpillar products and how to diagnose and repair failures. These courses supplement the learning that apprentices complete at TAFE providing that “Yellow Injection” that sets a William Adams apprenticeship apart from others. Available courses include those in hydraulics, electronics, undercarriage, troubleshooting, using electronic technician, and more advanced topics such as Tier IV aftertreatment and specialist machine courses. “We have strong interest
from customers who want to upskill their own apprentices or technicians in Caterpillar specific training,” says Tim.
The apprentices finish off the induction week with a dig pit experience which gives them some hands-on exposure to the iron. They have the opportunity to operate two different sized excavators, a skid steer, and have a turn on our excavator training simulator.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login