Doncaster student lands prestigious apprenticeship

Ethan Saunders is one of six who has a place on the new £1 million Tunstall Healthcare apprenticeship scheme designed to create the Tunstall engineers of the future.

Ethan Saunders, from Doncaster, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to earn and learn at the same time. Engineering is the ideal career for me, and it’s great to be able to combine studying with practical work, where I can benefit from the years of experience of professional engineers at a market-leading, innovative firm like Tunstall.”

Hundreds of applications were received, and Tunstall worked with The Engineering Trust, a charity established to promote and deliver high quality apprenticeships, to create a shortlist for interview.

The final six began their apprenticeships on September 16.

The Tunstall apprentices will spend one day a week at college, studying over four years for a Level 3 BTEC Diploma in Electrical Engineering. The remainder of the week will be spent working in the field under the supervision of experienced Tunstall engineers, and at the company’s head office in Yorkshire, to gain a thorough understanding of all aspects of the business.

Each apprentice will have a dedicated mentor to support them as they train.

Director of customer service and support, Duncan Bennett, said: “This is a million-pound investment in Tunstall’s future. We have an ageing engineering workforce in an industry that is becoming more digital by the day, and it is vital for the business that we profile our employees to ensure we have the skills to meet our customers’ changing needs. Engineering employers across the UK are experiencing recruitment difficulties and we hope the apprentice programme will ultimately mean we no longer need to recruit externally, as we will have created our own, best in class, team.”