Comserv is dedicated to recruiting young people and supporting their long-term development. They are our future and we take huge satisfaction helping them to fulfil their potential.
For well over a decade, Comserv have been employing Apprentices and providing dedicated support to enable them to complete their training and continue as permanent employees of the Company. These apprentices are always drawn from the local community and attend local colleges.
Each year we usually have an intake for apprentices across the Plumbing, Carpentry and Electrical trades. Our apprentices are recruited in July/August, with a view to commencing studies at college in September or January. More recently we have also taken on a Painting and Decorating Apprentice.
Working Hours and College
Our Apprentices work 5 days per week, Monday – Friday, 8.30am – 5.00pm. However, during term time Apprentices are given either day release or block weeks to carry out the required studies at a local college. Depending on course availability we tend to use the following colleges: Fareham, Chichester, City of Portsmouth and Eastleigh.
Reporting to a Supervisor (and on a day-to-day basis the tradesperson they are allocated to work with), Apprentices carry out placements with experienced operatives to gain the practical knowledge and skills they need to complete their apprenticeship.
Duties are dependent on the Apprentice's developing skills and will include:
- Assisting the operative to complete jobs to the required quality standards
- Ensuring that they follow the Company’s safe working practices and safety procedures at all times
- Undertaking labouring duties as and when required
- Completing college based work to a satisfactory standard within the required timescales
.jpg)
Our Apprenticeship retention after finishing is extremely high and we’ve had great success with them. One of our apprentices – Bradley Matthews started his carpentry apprenticeship in 2013 is now one of our Multi-Trade Operatives.
Whilst a lot of our Apprentices are young school/college leavers. We also take on Improvers, who are mature students pursuing a change of career. Recent examples of these include a female electrician retraining for a second career, a plumber who has recently moved to the UK, and an electrician who was a Royal Navy veteran. You can read about their Apprenticeship journeys and others on our Apprentice Case Studies page.
Work Experience
We also organise Work Experience placements for School and College students regularly, typically offering around 20 placements per year or one or two weeks duration.
If you are uncertain which Apprenticeship would suit you we can arrange for some work experience for you via your school or college so that you can go out with different Operatives and see which area of work suits you best.
Suitable Candidates
We look to take on people who will complete their apprenticeship with us and then pursue their career in full-time roles with Comserv.
Apprentices will be encouraged to take their driving test and gain experience of driving in their own time during their first 2 years of study. This is in order that they can meet the insurance and experience criteria for when you are ready to go out on your own in a Company vehicle.
Until Apprentices are allocated a vehicle of their own, they are expected to make their own way to a central, convenient point where our tradesperson can meet them. If they live local to the Apprentice they can pick them up from home.
Apprentices are expected to make their own way to college on their college days.
Qualifications & Experience
The ideal candidates will have:
- GCSE (or equivalent) Grade 4 or above in Maths & English
- Strong interpersonal skills and be customer focused
- A willingness to learn and develop
- The ability to work under pressure and prioritise accordingly
- A full, clean driving licence would be an advantage
Recruitment Process.jpg)
As part of our recruitment process, Apprenticeship candidates will be interviewed and asked to undertake a Maths and English assessment. They will also be asked to undertake some practical tasks. Maths and English are essential to complete the apprentice courses.
If applicants wish to become an Apprentice Electrician they will also be required to organise a colour vision eye test at their optician to check for colour blindness prior to interview.
If you would like to apply for an Apprenticeship with us, please submit your CV to: recruitment@comserv-uk.com. We will review all applicants in July of each year, although we will, of course acknowledge receipt of your application.
If you have any questions you can also call: 023 9245 7187 or email recruitment@comserv-uk.com.