17 WINTER 2016
Tammy Niven is a
manufacturing apprentice at
GSK in Irvine. We spoke to
her about her experience.
What made you apply for your
apprenticeship?
Well, in fifth year at school
I wasn’t exactly sure what I
wanted to do. I saw the GSK
apprenticeships advertised
and they were really appealing
to me. It’s ideal as you’re still
furthering your education as
well.
Why’s Ayrshire College a right
fit for you?
Ayrshire College is easily
accessible and the lecturers are
great, there’s a great sense of
community. The lecturers want
to help you because everyone’s
got a common goal in wanting
to pass their courses.
How are you finding the course?
I’m really enjoying the course
especially physics, although it
is really hard, but I think the
challenge is what I like about it.
What are your ambitions for the
future?
I definitely want to stay with
GSK because it’s such a
massive successful company.
I’ll complete my manufacturing
course and hopefully complete
my apprenticeship and get a job
at the end of it.
Brian Surgenor, Training
Manager at GSK, explained
why apprentices are so
important for the company.
Why are apprentices important
for GSK?
It gives youngsters a good
breeding into the industry and
brings apprentices on. We bring
them in, we train them up to our
standards on our systems and
our safety, and we can then plan
for the future by slotting them
into jobs once jobs become
available.
How do you tailor the
apprenticeships to get the best
out of them?
It’s a three year apprenticeship,
so we send our apprentices to
the College for the first year to
do their HNC. Then we bring
them into day release for City
and Guilds, and then do process
and safety training. After the
three years they’re actually
ready to slot into a job if there’s
a job available for them.
How do you monitor the
progress of your apprentices?
We go the College every four
weeks to get a progress report.
If there are any problems with
anything at all, the College
contacts us and we set up
meetings.
How is the relationship with
Ayrshire College?
The direct link is really
important, because we get a
heads-up straight away if there’s
a problem with anything. We’re
developing a good relationship
with the College as they give
us really good feedback which
helps us plan for the future.
What are the plans going
forward for GSK?
We