Watertrain and OnSite partnership is building skills for the future
February 10, 2025
Watertrain launches ‘Building Skills for Tomorrow’ campaign to celebrate the impact of apprenticeships and training
March 3, 2025
Watertrain are delighted to announce that the winner of our Apprentice of the Year Award 2025 is Neil, from Thames Water.
Neil was nominated for the award by our Learning Development Coach, Paul, in recognition of his incredible dedication to learning and his growth throughout the Level 3 Water Industry Network Technician apprenticeship programme.
In follow up to the award, we spoke to Neil to find out more about his apprenticeship experience:
What have been the most enjoyable aspects of your apprenticeship?
“Paul, our Learning Development Coach, has a fantastic sense of humour and a great teaching technique that really hits the mark for my particular learning style.
I am also a self-confessed ‘nerd’ when it comes to learning new material, especially when it comes to engineering. Therefore, Paul’s background of working with PRVs really resonates with me and I have enjoyed learning the very specific nuances and characteristics of the various types.
I would add that I have also been extremely fortunate to be within a great cohort and we have worked well together. The mix of Thames Water and South East Water employees has been great, and I would like to think that we have learned a lot from each other. I have certainly learned a great deal from my classmates.”
How has your confidence grown since starting the apprenticeship?
“My management have been nothing short of brilliant in building my confidence up and thanks to Lloyd, Tony and Shane.
The journey continued into my Watertrain apprenticeship and, despite a few setbacks, Paul (my LDC) and the friendships forged within the cohort have been instrumental.
I find myself opening up in class as I would have done years ago and speaking with the confidence I have lacked for so long. For that reason alone, this apprenticeship has been invaluable.”
How did you find the support provided by both your employer and Watertrain?
“My line manager, Lloyd, has been extremely supportive. He has afforded us the benefits of time, experience and has organised a variety of visits and training sessions to supplement the course.
We have further been supported by Dan who has been our Apprenticeship liaison between Watertrain and Thames Water and Dan has shown a keen and very obvious interest in our wellbeing and progression throughout.
As for Watertrain, I have to say that Jackie could not have been more helpful when I missed out on a module and moved ‘Heaven and Earth’ to get me onto another module and for that I am extremely grateful.
We have also had brilliant guest speakers from Watertrain in the form of Adam, Fergie and Parminder, all of whom have brought a wealth of their own experience and knowledge.
The star of the show, however, must be Paul. I will genuinely miss our talks in the mornings before everyone else arrives. He has been, and I am sure will continue to be, a real asset to Watertrain and his future apprentices.”
Neil is now working towards his End Point Assessment (EPA) and we wish him the very best luck in his EPA – and throughout his career!
To learn more about our apprenticeships and how they could support your workforce development, please contact us via:
Email: info@watertrain.co.uk
Telephone: 03330 431 431
