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Celebrating Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Week

04 February 2025

Celebrating Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Week

This Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Week, we’re proud to spotlight the journey of Matthew, a promising apprentice from our Technical Support team.  As part of our commitment to nurturing fresh talent, we’ve proudly integrated apprenticeships into our business. Our apprentices work alongside full-time staff, gaining hands-on experience while being mentored by senior engineers.

Since joining us four months ago, Matthew has made encouraging progress in electrical & electronic engineering, demonstrating how our programme tailors to individual goals, aligning perfectly with this year’s theme, ‘Getting it Right for You’.

Meet Matthew – Engineering apprentice

Matthew is undertaking a Level 5 in Engineering (Electrical & Electronic ) Foundation Degree Higher Level Apprenticeship at Southern Regional College in Newry, balancing this with hands-on work with our Technical Support Team. Inspired by family – his grandfather, father and several friends followed the apprenticeship path.  Matthew was drawn to the opportunity to earn while learning. “It appealed to me to get paid to learn on the job while continuing my education,” he added.

A day in the life

Matthew starts his day early – by choice! He enjoys the flexibility at Lava, where he can start anytime between 8:00 and 9:30 AM. His days are varied, split between the office and on-site with clients. Whether building and setting up hardware in the workshop or assisting with troubleshooting issues onsite; no two days are the same. Currently, Matthew is working on setting up a test rig to evaluate circuit boards, collaborating closely with our electrical engineers.

Proud achievements

One of Matthew’s standout projects involved designing a component in Fusion to test whether a device is in a locked position. It’s now a key tool used by the development team and affectionately nicknamed the ‘M Machine’. “It’s rewarding to see something I created being used regularly and making a real impact,” he says.

What he loves most

For Matthew, it’s all about the people and the trust placed in him. “I love the responsibility and the freedom to use my initiative,” he says. “It feels great to know I’m contributing to the team.”  For Matthew, it’s not just about honing his technical abilities but also about developing interpersonal skills through interactions with other members of the team, clients and subcontractors on site.

Key lessons

Problem-solving has been the most valuable skill Matthew has developed. Through collaboration with the technical support team and observing Lava’s experienced engineers, he’s had several ‘aha!’ moments that brought his learning to life. “Seeing the product work in a live environment is incredibly satisfying,” he adds.

Advice to future apprentices

Matthew emphasises the importance of people skills and responsibility. “You can’t act like you’re still in school – you need to be independent, focused and determined to succeed,” he advises.

Fun fact

When he’s not engineering solutions, Matthew loves outdoor adventures like rock climbing and water sports, going to the gym or gaming on his Xbox.

Delivering work-based training to employees is key to Lava’s growth. As Matthew’s mentor has highlighted.

Watching Matthew start to find his footing within our team has been very rewarding. Initially, he focused on learning the fundamentals of our business, from the engineering tools we use to the solutions we provide. He’s now beginning to develop specialised skills that are vital for our future needs. While it’s early days, the training we provide is designed not just for immediate contributions but for our company’s long-term growth”, added Lee.

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