My First Week - Carys

Written by Community Safety Advisor Apprentice Carys Thompson

I’m one of the 13 young new apprentices to start the apprenticeship scheme with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.

My name is Carys Thompson and I am with the Salford and Trafford Prevention team and I am based at Eccles Fire Station, my role in this is Community Safety Advisor Apprentice.

Monday, was my first day starting the apprenticeship, I was a little apprehensive as to what the day would be like. The first two days consisted of an induction into what we would be getting involved in for the next 12 months. I was also introduced to my mentor Karen, part of the Corporate Communications  team, and some of the team from HR. It was great to have more of an insight into what the fire service do.

Tuesday was the second day into the induction. I was introduced to The Manchester College, who are carryout the qualification side of things. The apprentices and I also had a photo-shoot to share the news about the fire service employing 13 new young apprentices.  I also had my photo taken for my I.D badge.

Wednesday, is my official college day I will be attending The Training and Development Centre every week to complete the qualification. One of the tutors introduced me to the “ERR” workbook which is some of the work we have to do within the next 8 weeks.

Thursday was my first official day on station; I was nervous to meet my line manager and my team.  When I arrived there I rang the doorbell and Will one of my team members answered the door, he was very nice and asked how I was. I followed Will into the CSA office and was introduced to my line manager Jan and some of my team Tony and Debra. I really like my team and think they all welcomed me with open arms.  In the afternoon I went out with Tony to do some Home Safety Checks, Tony was really nice and answered any questions that I had. He also invited me to his radio show to share my experience as a new apprentice and how my journey started.  

Friday my second day on station, I did some of my ERR booklet for the college. In the afternoon Tony and I went to Salford radio hotspot, beforehand I was a nervous because this was all new to me. Tony introduced me and we talked about my experience with the Prince’s Trust and how I became an apprentice with GMFRS. We also read out some of the incidents that had happened recently.  I thought this was a great new experience for me; I really enjoyed doing this with Tony and even got to pick the songs that were played. Tony has also invited me to appear on this radio later on in the year to see how my apprenticeship is going.

I am really enjoying working with my team at Eccles and look forward to completing this apprenticeship.