Lift West

Somerset

Jason Percival

Service Supervisor

Chloe Allen is going up in the world – and not just because she works with fork-lift trucks all day as part of her apprenticeship in light vehicle maintenance and repair.

The 18-year-old, like all the apprentices before her at Lift West in Somerset, is likely to be offered a permanent post and have a chance to move up through the company.

“Our last four apprentices are all still here and one is the workshop supervisor,” says Lift West’s Service Supervisor, Jason Percival. “There are opportunities to progress if they want to.

“There aren’t many people doing this and we need to bring people into this industry. It isn’t one of the easiest jobs. It’s physically demanding with outdoor work and you’re on your own and have to think for yourself.

“It was a bit of a challenge to start with for Chloe with her not being as strong, but her colleagues realised she could do the work.”

He is full of praise for Chloe for making it in such a male-dominated industry and for Bridgwater College, where she spends one day a week receiving all the support an apprentice could wish for.

“Chloe is getting good reports from the college all the time,” he says. “The college have given her a lot of basic insight into motor vehicles. The guys there are excellent and their assessor is good at coming out at short notice whenever we need it.”

Chloe’s three-year apprenticeship covers all aspects of forklift maintenance – and she’s still so excited about it that she’s considering taking it further.

“I’m only weeks away from finishing my apprenticeship to Level 2 but hope to do another year,” she says.

“I didn’t want to go to college full-time or have an office job. I wanted something hands-on, and this industry interested me the most.

“The college have supported me  and if I haven’t been able to do a particular piece of work here, they’ve helped me find a way around that. And getting paid to learn is one of the best things!”

Bridgwater College