Darcie and Mikey taking a socially-distanced break from their work on site.
Colleagues in SSE’s networks business Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) have been adapting ways of working to ensure apprentices stay on track with their training during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mikey Cummings, who has been with SSEN for over 12 years, is part of the Regional team in Dundee. He has been mentoring apprentice Darcie Lynch since last Spring, as part of an ‘apprentice bubble.’
A key part of the apprenticeship programme is the first-hand experience that comes from shadowing an experienced colleague. The ever-evolving challenges of working safely during a pandemic give the mentor’s role an added layer of importance.
Mikey said: “When I was an apprentice, I really enjoyed learning on the job, it helped everything I was doing at college click into place. Driving is one of the most hazardous tasks we carry out and so a more experienced member of the team would have previously transported you to and from site. Travelling with your colleague was a great way of getting to know other members of the team, as well as picking up the kind of insight into the way things are done in real life that you just can’t get from a textbook on its own.
“Since the start of the pandemic we’ve been operating a “one person-one van” system for day-to-day work apart from emergency situations, and this could potentially have meant Darcie and other apprentices missing out on the chance to discuss the jobs and ask questions when they were travelling between sites.
“To safely maintain this all-important social element of the apprenticeship, we’ve set up “apprentice bubbles” where the apprentice only ever travels with their mentor, working the same shifts and taking the same holidays as them as well, which I think is a great way of keeping us all safe as well as supporting our colleagues at the start of their SSEN careers.”
Speaking about the ‘bubble’ Darcie said: “I think it’s a great idea and something that’s really important in the current situation as it’s helping us all keep safe, as well as letting me continue with such an important part of my apprenticeship.
“Being able to shadow Mikey using the bubble system means that I’m still getting the invaluable experience of what it’s like to work out on site, seeing for myself the different types of jobs that we do and building up all the skills that I need for my career with SSEN.”