Celebrating our apprentices during National Apprenticeship Week 2025
National Apprenticeships Week (NAW) 2025 is in February, celebrating the varied journeys taken by apprentices as they navigate learning, working and building confidence during their time as an apprentice.
Here at Flowtech, we are pleased to be able to join in the celebrations, as we are lucky enough to have 18 Trainee Apprentices, 6 Upskill Apprentices and our 2 T Level Apprentices, all at different sites in the UK, but all with a unique story to tell.
In order to keep businesses moving up and down the country, we feel it’s important to invest in those who have a passion for engineering or would like to contribute to the fluid power industry as a whole.
These new skills and fresh faces are fundamental to feed the pipeline of talent we have at Flowtech and to ensure we have plenty of experience, passion and energy to support our customers in the future.
To that end, we sat down with five of our current apprentices to find out how their journey was going, who their biggest influences have been and what ‘Skills for Life’ they have learnt, which is the theme of NAW this year.
[Left to right: Billy Horrocks, Ciaran Young, Sam Darke, Jakub Szyba, Laura Bickerstaffe]
Billy Horrocks is a Design Engineer at Liverpool, and currently studying a level 3 Design Engineer and Draughtsperson apprenticeship. He commented:
“Having a great time and everyone is really helpful and supportive and want you to learn and improve. Peter and Conroy have both been so helpful and have really taught me so much in the past 5 months of working here.
“The most valuable skill I am continually learning is attention to detail when designing little details matter and keeping documentation consistent and correct.”
Laura Bickerstaffe is a Senior Media Specialist at Skelmersdale and currently studying a level 3 Team Leader/Supervisor apprenticeship. She commented:
“During my four years at Flowtech I’ve upskilled and progressed in the group creative team. My media role has given me opportunities to attend events and exhibitions, networking, learning about the fluid power industry and forming business relationships throughout the wider business.
“Karen Tucker and the creative team have always supported my ambition to progress in the business and upskill in my role.
“I’ve learnt lots of handy people management skills, such as holding challenging conversations and workload prioritisation techniques.”
Jakub Szyba, who is studying a T Level in Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing in Exeter, commented:
“During my industry placement, I have gained experience in key engineering skills. I have been learning SolidWorks design, developing my ability to create 3D models and technical drawings.
“I’m really enjoying the course so far. It’s been a great opportunity to learn practical skills, while also gaining hands-on experience that’s preparing me for a future career in engineering.”
Sam Darke is also based in Exeter as a Technical and Application Engineer. He is now on the second year of a degree apprenticeship at the University of Nottingham, studying level 6 Electro-Mechanical Engineering, working towards a BEng in Mechanical Engineering. He commented:
“Flowtech have supported me excellently throughout my level 3 and now onto my level 6 programme. Particular mention has to go to Mark Venn and Kevin Rendall for their continued support.”
“The most valuable skill I have learned during my time with Flowtech is the importance of clear communication.”
Ciaran Young, who is a Marketing Content Creator at Thorite in Bradford, has now finished studying a level 3 Content Creator apprenticeship. He commented:
“I’ve enjoyed seeing my growth within the company, as when I started, I was working in a junior position to Thorite’s then-main creative designer and last year I actually took over that role.
“I am very grateful for the guidance and mentorship of Thorite’s then-creative designer who gave me great insights into the ins and outs of the role and also the principles of making dynamic, eye-catching content. I’m also grateful to Ginny Fox the Thorite marketing manager who throughout my apprenticeship was nothing but supportive and encouraging.
“As a content creator there are always tons of various things that need doing and my time doing the apprenticeship taught me how to balance all of that effectively.”
You can learn more about NAW 2025 on their website here.