The Advanced Therapies Apprenticeship Community (ATAC) recently participated in a job swap initiative between its apprentices and members of CGT Catapult’s executive board. The idea originated from two current ATAC apprentices, Will and Caelum, who were interested in gaining insight into the wider organisation.   

Apprentices were matched with roles where the pairing could potentially open opportunities for their career development and where directors could gain valuable insights into ATAC by experiencing first-hand what our fantastic apprentices get up to! 

Amelia, HR apprentice, swapped with Catrin, HR Director, for the week. Amelia had the opportunity to participate in various key meetings, including the monthly HR & COMMS Catch Up, HR Awards Catch Up, Quarterly Review with Thrive, and Internal COMMS Planning. These engagements offered invaluable insight into upcoming projects, enriching her understanding of the team’s priorities. 

“I learnt about how HR operates alongside the wider business and how we support different departments and business goals. For example, I got to see all the preparation that goes into launching plans, systems, projects and objectives for things that I wasn’t even aware of that were soon to be coming into play. I will definitely take away a wider understanding of what a director’s role is over a department and the type of responsibilities and decision-making they hold, as well as how the work I do supports the ongoing projects and plans that are in place.” – Amelia 

Caelum, Operations and Quality Technician Apprentice and Alexandra, Apprentice Engineer spent the week with Stephen Ward, Chief Manufacturing Officer. Together, they participated in various events, including Biz4Biz in Stevenage. A highlight from their swap was a one-on-one session with Stephen where they had the opportunity to delve into his journey to CMO 

Lucy, Technician Scientist Apprentice shadowed Catapult’s Chief Business Officer, Jeanette Evans. 

“I went up to London and we had a sit-down lunch where we spoke about her career progression to date, motivators and an overview of her role within the business. I then had the opportunity to shadow and sit in on some of her meetings to get an insight into the different responsibilities she has as the CBO. It was a great insight into a different side of the business and industry that I haven’t yet had a lot of exposure to.  

She then came to Braintree to gain an insight into what my day-to-day looks like. We did a tour of the MS&T facilities, and I had the opportunity to take her into the lab and explain what our equipment is used for, how we work and what types of projects we are working on at the moment.” – Lucy 

William, Technician Scientist Apprentice swapped with Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult’s CEO, Matthew Durdy. William had a very busy week attending important meetings at various sites. “Being a CEO is very taxing where you have little if any free time which means you have to be incredibly driven and focused to achieve results which I admire.” 

The job swap initiative not only facilitated personal and professional growth for the apprentices but also allowed for greater collaboration and understanding across different levels of the organisation. Thank you to all that took part – watch this space for another job swap in the future. 

Ted, Research Technician Apprentice job swapped with Philip Brady, Chief Financial Officer. 

“Philip joined me in the lab to work on an analytical experiment. He enjoyed the change of pace when working in the lab and was curious, asking questions about the complicated measures we take to prevent contamination and costly mix-ups. It was handy having him around to prepare reagents for me!” – Ted