Siemens Healthcare has launched two new apprenticeship schemes in the UK and is now offering apprenticeships in Field Service and Technical Sales.
The company is looking to maximise talent within the organisation by offering a combination of theoretical and vocational study, providing individuals the opportunity to develop in-demand skills and gain a professional qualification. Siemens Healthcare’s Apprenticeship schemes are the brainchild of Sales Director Steve Holmes, pictured here with apprentices Richard Lawton, Richard Dunn and Ashleigh Summer.
Siemens’ corporate aim is to develop its talent pipeline by both bringing new personnel into the organisation and growing talent internally. The Higher Technical Sales Apprenticeship scheme is the brainchild of Steve Holmes, a former apprentice at Siemens in Congleton who joined the company in 1976 and is now Sales Director at Siemens Healthcare. The recruits will be managed by Neil Lincoln, Northern Sales Manager at Siemens Healthcare who also started his career as an apprentice.
“This is an exciting new chapter for Siemens to encourage and grow fresh new talent for the healthcare industry,” states Steve Holmes, Sales Director at Siemens Healthcare. “We’ve developed BPP’s existing Management Consultant apprenticeship scheme and worked in a sales-focused element with a steer towards vocational development. Internal Siemens sales courses as well as rotational placements around the business have been included to enable the honing of the skills needed to become a sales professional operating in today’s changing market.”
Siemens Healthcare has now welcomed a number of new recruits onto the newly-launched Higher Technical Sales Apprenticeship scheme, which sees Apprentices working towards their Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship in Professional Services with a focus on Management Consulting.
The Field Service Apprentice scheme, in partnership with Tyne Metropolitan College, has seen a number of apprentices enrolled at the college, where they will undertake study alongside vocational, on-the-job training. The scheme has been adapted from a successful model previously used in the Siemens energy sector and follows a combined Mechanical/Electrical Engineering pathway. The bespoke course combines mandatory and optional modules with practical and written assessment, and underpins the NVQ Level 3 Technical Certificate in Electrical/Electronic Engineering. The course also includes a Level 2 NVQ in Performing Engineering Operations (PEO) and is combined with practical training to develop an understanding of Siemens’ methods, resources and procedures.
“I’ve always been interested in engineering, so I applied for the apprenticeship to increase my knowledge of hospital technology,” states Jack McNally, who started the four-year Field Service Apprenticeship scheme in the summer. “I will be studying at college and then receiving practical training for the next three years, and I hope to be a fully-qualified Field Service Engineer based in the North East at the end of this.”
Siemens is currently providing professional training to over 8,000 young people in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Hungary, offering training opportunities in electronics, mechatronics, machining and IT. The company invested €216 million in training worldwide in 2012.