Port of Dover New Apprentices complete their first week

With their first week complete following a full-on Induction, our new Apprentices have certainly seen and heard so much about the Port of Dover! They are now very keen to get on and get into their workplace and start their Apprenticeship. The 2.5 day induction, included an introduction to the Port and the Apprenticeship Programme itself, an introduced key HR policies about working at the Port and they were also given information on payroll, pensions, healthcare and other benefits. The Apprentices found out about our work within the community and had an in-depth Safety, Health and Environment, IT and Security and Resilience Induction. Management from the Marine Team, Engineering Team, Police Team, and POD Cargo Team also spent the time to give an overview of our operations and business streams.

The Apprentices had the opportunity to see the Port in action whilst visiting Port Control and Terminal Control, learning about TAP, Ferry Operations and volumes of traffic and in Port Control the role of the VTS officer, how they communicate with all vessels that enter and leave the port and surprisingly the demonstration of the all-important work-station desks that rise and go down at the touch of a button! That was a talking point!

The final day of the induction included discussions about the Apprenticeship Standards that the Apprentices will be working towards. These explain the knowledge, skills and behaviours that they will need to demonstrate to receive their Apprenticeships Certificate. They were given a copy of their personal training plans, which cover Port specific requirements to ensure we have competent people at the end of the training.   The Induction closed with a Mentor Mingling session – a social distanced event where the Apprentices got to meet and find out more about those that have volunteered to become Mentors and support the Apprentices to develop and grow. They then headed back to their departments to settle in for their departmental induction and the challenge ahead.