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At 17 years old, Joe is one of the youngest Civil Service apprentices, having started his two‑year course in Electrical Engineering at HMS Collingwood, near Portsmouth last October.

Joe came onto the Apprenticeship programme, supported by the defence systems and engineering arm of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), immediately after leaving school.

“After I finished school, I really wanted to start work – I wasn’t keen on going to college, because I didn’t really enjoy the classroom environment. But I saw the Apprenticeship advertised locally and thought it looked interesting. I’ve really enjoyed the practical aspect of being able to apply the theory we are learning in the classroom immediately as we are on a navy establishment, with all the lab facilities immediately to hand, and we have a good mix of civilian and navy teachers.”

“The course is quite wide‑ranging and covers all aspects of different systems. After we finish at Collingwood, we will complete a year of work placements in a range of different MoD establishments, so we need to be able to tackle anything that can be thrown at us.”

The MoD offers a range of Apprenticeships to its civilian and military staff and last year and at any one time there are as many as 8000 Apprenticeships underway. The majority are in the Armed Forces and are delivered across many trade groups in the Royal Navy, Army and RAF. The MoD Engineering Apprenticeship programme, which Joe is part of, is aimed at MoD’s civilian workforce and is made up of Technician and Craft Apprenticeships. In 2007, Apprenticeships totalled 350.

“When I finish my work placement, I will get a Foundation Degree qualification, in addition to the Apprenticeship.”

Last Updated: 23/05/2012