A global company is offering school leavers the chance to gain hands on experience in its Reading lab.
Procter and Gamble (P&G), provider to brands including Pantene, Ariel and Gillette, is searching for aspiring scientists to join its apprenticeship programme based at its Reading Innovation Centre.
Successful applicants will work across multiple business units such as Grooming, Health Care, Oral Care and beauty care while gaining a Level 3 Laboratory Technician qualification.
Since launching three years ago, the scheme has seen apprentices complete their qualification before going on to secure permanent employment with the firm.
Apprenticeship sponsor, Erica Hodgson said: “In 2017, we broadened our R&D recruitment criteria to allow us to identify and train “hands on” scientific talent to join our Researcher track.
“It quickly became clear that via the Laboratory Technical Apprenticeship we could offer job specific training, whilst the apprentices were also able to gain a Level 3 apprenticeship qualification.
“We developed an internal training program, designed to give the apprentices the opportunities that they need to gain their qualification as well as delivering against real needs within our R&D projects.
“For the company to be successful, it is critical that we continue to invest in and nurture practical laboratory skills; allowing us to quickly turn ideas into reality and generate critical scientific insights that will drive our next generation of innovation”.
And reflecting on her experience of the programme, past apprentice Emma Dickens said: “I always enjoyed science at school and knew it was something I would want to do for a career.
“I believed that doing an apprenticeship would better train me for a job in science than just doing A levels. During the assessment day I managed to find out a lot about the company and what it stood for.
“I was able to ask all the questions I had; it was as much about me finding out what the apprenticeship would be like as them interviewing me.”
Tayler Rhodes, who has also completed the scheme, added: “During my apprenticeship I worked on a wide variety of projects which enabled me to broaden my skill set within the workplace as well as applying different aspects of my BTEC to my work.
“All the work that I completed was for a real business need and I felt fully included in the company from day 1.
“There was a wide support network ranging from management team to project supervisors, who would go above and beyond to try and answer every question.”
For more information about the apprenticeship programme or to apply log on to www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeship/-526271.
