Today we’re speaking to Jack, who works in our Stores team at Direct Air and has recently successfully completed his apprenticeship!
After a year and a half of working at Direct Air as an apprentice, lets see how he’s finding his new role using the training learnt throughout the apprenticeship course…
Jack’s working journey
Jack joined Direct Air in March 2022 and started his Warehouse Operative and Supply Chain Apprenticeship that year. After completing the course in August 2023 and achieving a Pass grade, Jack’s position now stands as Direct Air’s Warehouse Assistant.
What was the transition like from being an apprentice to being a permanent Direct Air employee?
The transition from being an apprentice to my permanent role was really smooth, as I feel like I’ve learnt so much throughout my first year at Direct Air that I was ready to move to a new position and progress further.
The tasks I was already practicing (especially towards the end of my apprenticeship when I’d gained more understanding and knowledge) have now become key responsibilities in my Warehouse Assistant role. The main change has been how these responsibilities have developed in my permanent position, as I now have more independence when carrying them out. I feel I’ve always been trusted at Direct Air, but this independence now makes me feel even more trusted by the company.
I have been given the opportunity to take care of the general warehouse upkeep at our second Coventry Direct Air unit, which we expanded into just last year. This consists of daily tasks such as checking stock, keeping the warehouse consistently organised and tidy, storing new deliveries of compressed air and pipework equipment, assisting our Project & Installations Manager, Tom, and much more. The unit houses office space as well as the warehouse itself, meaning I received a new desk set up just inside of the stores area which allows me to easily access the warehouse whenever I need to.
How was the new role approached?
After I received my results, I had a meeting with Direct Air’s General Company Manager, Emma. During this meeting, Emma congratulated me on successfully completing my apprenticeship and went onto propose the new permanent role of Warehouse Assistant, which I was thrilled to accept!
We then spent the remainder of the meeting discussing how my responsibilities will be changing and developing.
Following this meeting, I then had a discussion at a later date with Emma as well as Direct Air’s Project & Installations Manager, and Buyer. This is when details were specified about me relocating to the new unit (just two doors down!) to delve into my new role. Here I was given goals and targets inline with the level of progress my managers planned to see within the unit by Christmas. This provided a great guide for me moving forward and put me at ease whilst moving into my new role as I knew exactly what I had to do. There was also future goals outlined which has given me even more motivation to go above and beyond to try and achieve them sooner.
Do you feel like the apprenticeship contributed to helping you work to the best of your ability in your Assistant role?
A lot of the skills I was learning whilst being an apprentice have translated into responsibilities of my permanent position. The specific apprenticeship course I took definitely contributed to this, as the training covered all aspects of receipt, storage and distribution of stock from delivery of goods and materials to the warehouse, through to sales promotion, health and safety and customer service techniques. Retaining important information needed to do my job well and understanding the reason behind procedures in the workplace has been a really key part of the apprenticeship course.
As well as the apprenticeship course itself, I was also learning other skills to help me progress on the job, such as gaining my forklift license and driving license.
Overall I think getting an apprenticeship was a great route into work life for me, as it gradually introduced me into the routine and gave me such an array of skills in such a short time. Also, learning the job and getting to know my colleagues at the same time helped me to form strong bonds with them, and now I feel like I have lots of great working relationships at Direct Air.
Will you be continuing your education throughout your permanent position?
Even through I’m no longer doing the apprenticeship course, I do still plan to continue educating myself as I work in my new role.
Some key upcoming training I will be taking on in the near future consists of a First Aid course and also becoming the new Fire Marshal at Direct Air. I’m really looking forward to these new courses as it is something different to what I’ve done so far.
What is your favourite thing about being in your new role?
In my Warehouse Assistant role, one of the things I’m enjoying the most is the independence and new challenges of working in the new unit. It really makes me feel like I have progressed since being an apprentice which gives me motivation to continue on this route.
Also, I am now working more in the parts purchasing side of the warehouse role, as I am communicating more frequently with our Internal Sales personnel from Direct Air’s Cheltenham office regarding supply sheets. I’m looking forward to continuing more with tasks like this as I get more and more familiar with my role.