In the Autumn of 2022, two new starters were welcomed to the company as Apprentice CAD Operators based in the Great Yarmouth office. Lilly Thompson and Jack Prendergast were employed by TrAC, a Flexi-Job Apprenticeship Agency.
Role specific CAD training
Lilly, aged 20, undertook a Level 3 Business Administration course following successful completion of her A levels. Jack, aged 18, trained to be a Level 3 Information Communications Technician, having completed a level 3 course in engineering at college.
On the job training
CADS’ retail store planning team has over 40 years’ experience working with household names to plan and optimise store layouts and floorplans. They have the largest team of experienced UK-based retail planners. Jack and Lilly were both seconded into the retail space planning team for role specific training during their CADS apprenticeship.
As an apprentice CAD operator, Lilly looked forward to the challenge of learning new skills and working in a job with variation. Lilly explains:
“I have really enjoyed the drawing tasks I’ve been working on at CADS, together with the challenge of learning the new skills required to do this.”
Jack was attracted to apply for an apprenticeship with CADS because he wanted to learn more about CAD and train for a career in computer systems design:
“I liked the idea of travelling to new places and working away from home. Learning different, smarter ways to do things is something I really enjoy so I look forward to developing my software skills and learning new programs.”
In July 2023 the company welcomed Liam Franklin to the CADS Survey team as a Trainee Geospatial Surveyor while starting a two-year block release course at Dudley College on a Geospatial Survey Technician Apprenticeship course. Liam looked forward to building upon his existing Revit knowledge and increasing his skill set through the range of reality capture instrumentation and software packages CADS Surveys use on a daily basis.
New apprentices join the scheme
By February 2024, CADS was employing six apprentices. Five employed through the TrAC apprenticeship scheme including new starters – Callum Irving, Axel Davenport and Emily Klumper, all apprentice CAD Operators on the Business Administration Apprenticeship. Axel joined CADS from his previous role as a teaching assistant. Callum joined the company straight from university having supported his time in education by working at Primark and Tesco’s. Callum recently recorded his apprenticeship journey in an insight article on the CADS website.
Training success
In August 2024 Lilly formally passed her apprenticeship and officially joined CADS in September and Jack formally passed his apprenticeship achieving a final grade of Merit (which included a distinction for his end project) and a qualification of Level 3 ICT (Support Technician) Digital in Nov 2024. Jack joined CADS officially in December 2024.
Apprentice training within the company begins with basic auto cad training. Each apprentice then experiences an overview of the departments in which CADS specialise in – measured building surveys and retail planning. This insight allows CADS to pinpoint a suitable department where the apprentices would thrive and offer the maximum support to the business.
The apprenticeship scheme has been an enormous success for CADS. Two, soon to be three apprentices have become full time employees in the Retail Planning team upon successful completion of their apprenticeship. We have an additional two apprentices most of the way through their apprenticeship as well.
Duncan Nash, Lead Account Manager at TrAC says:
“As leaders in employing apprentices in Great Yarmouth and across Norfolk, CADS are setting the standard for collaborative working and shaping the future of recruitment. TrAC is proud to collaborate with such an innovative company.”
A career in space planning
As UK leaders in retail store planning and measured site surveys, CADS wanted to “grow their own” staff, with specific on-site training leading to a successful career in the space planning industry. They also wanted to ethically provide life-long career prospects by giving individuals starting their working lives the opportunity for a career and employment. Bringing youngsters into the business also had the added benefit of providing a new dynamic, fresh thinking, and creative problem-solving techniques.
“We are incredibly proud of the apprentices in our business. Our two newest Business Administrator apprentices – Axel and Callum – are already working closely with our retail team and being trained on AutoCAD. Another of our apprentices – Emily – recently won Apprentice of the Month with TrAC! And our trainee Geospatial Surveyor Liam is already an integral part of the measured survey team. It is so rewarding to see how well they are developing,” says Aaron Wright, Managing Director of CADS.
Apply to work at CADS
Interested in applying to work at CADS? Get in touch via hr@cadsonline.com – They are always interested to hear from talented and motivated individuals.
To find out more about CADS, visit: https://cadsonline.com/
