Cammell Laird Apprentice Dominic Davis continues to soar in his apprenticeship; two years after scooping up a Welder of the Year accolade, he has now been nominated for a national Apprentice award at the annual GTA Apprentice Awards in this November.
Dominic started a Level 3 Apprenticeship in Fabrication & Welding Engineering at The Engineering College in 2013 and excelled whilst on programme. During the course of his apprenticeship Dominic displayed a great deal of commitment to his programme, completing his apprenticeship ahead of his end date, all practical work was completed to a standard higher than that of a qualified tradesman. Impressed by this, Dominic’s supervisors trained him to such a high standard that he was the only apprentice and one of only five people in the entire workforce qualified to use a specific piece of welding equipment. This has never been achieved before with an apprentice at Cammell Laird.
As a result of his hard work, Dominic won The Engineering College prestigious Welder of the Year Award in 2016 against stiff competition. Commenting on his success, Dominic explained “winning this accolade led to my supervisors giving me more responsibility, which I really enjoyed. I have helped other colleagues learn new skills by working together in a team. I was part of a team of 7 apprentices who won the Fairbridge award, a national competition where we worked without any supervisor or mentors to start and complete a project and raised 25k for a worthy charity”
“When I was 18 years old, I lost my job as an Apprentice Electrician and I saw there was an opportunity of becoming an Apprentice Fabricator/Welder at Cammell Laird. This opportunity excited me as it was a chance to learn new skills and a chance to gain experience in an area that was facing a large skills gap in the years to follow. My role as a welder entitles me to use many tools and pieces of equipment, including a Moggy, Sub Arch and MIG & TIG welding. I am one of only five coded welders at Cammell Laird who can use the Sub Arc machine (where the current staff head count stands at 662). Because of my many different skills, I get to work all over the yard, in Construction and Ship Repair, so the team I operate within varies day to day because of this. Some machines require team work and others require you to work alone.
When I started my apprenticeship, I wasn’t from the area and moved away from my family to progress in my career. The self-confidence I have gained during this time has made this move worthwhile and I now believe in myself and my attributes. I have my own family now, which motivated me even more to succeed in my field and continually better myself. I am always looking to learn new things, which not only benefits myself but Cammell Laird, when bidding for new business. Winning the Welder of the Year award has made me more aware of my future and what that may be, along with my skills being recognised by my peers, supervisors, Cammell Laird management and staff at The Engineering College.
As an apprentice at Cammell Laird, we focus on team work and getting the job done right first time, whether that be at work or outside. We work together to get coursework complete for our Apprenticeship, and also help the newer Apprentices in the yard by making them aware that they are not alone and we have all been in their position. I have been showing other Apprentices the Sub Arch and helping them to complete the Job reports in the correct format. I promote Apprenticeships in Cammell Laird due to my work with Charities, such as Cash for Kids and Tall Ships. Working as an Apprentice has given me so much experience in life skills and work skills and I am already looking to further my career by moving in the Quality Assurance & Control field through enrolling onto a CSWIP course and becoming a Welding Inspector.”
Tutors from The Engineering College added, “during his apprenticeship, Dominic was able to meet any and all deadlines regarding targets set at reviews and was the first person out of his cohort to complete.“