National Apprenticeship Week 2022
To mark National Apprenticeship Week, Pembroke's two apprentices, Arina Grebneva and Jay Delaney agreed to give us an idea of what they do in and around the College.
Arina Grebneva
Arina has been at Pembroke since 6 January 2021 and is approaching the end of her level 3 IT apprenticeship.
What does your apprenticeship involve?
It's really varied. I set up AV equipment, reply and assist with Help enquiries, assign Help tickets, support new staff and Fellows with their IT inductions, check the servers, assist with physical hardware issues when I can. I've also been assisting a member of the IT team with website issues.
Alongside this I've been taking remote classes and I'm about to do my week-long project.
What's it been like to work at Pembroke?
The IT team have been very supportive and I really enjoy working with them. One member of the team mentors me on general IT support issues and another on website issues. Whenever I've been not sure how to solve a problem, they have always been ready to offer advice.
But all the staff around College have been very kind and understanding, not just those in the IT team.
What do you hope to do next?
I'm planning to progress to my Level 4 apprenticeship at Pembroke
Ultimately, once I'm fully qualified I'd like to be an IT technician in the gaming industry. Two of my favourite hobbies are gaming (League of Legends is a favourite!) and drawing, so I'd love to be able to incorporate those into my future IT career in some way.
Jay Delaney
Jay worked as a painter and decorator for 12 years, before joining Pembroke. He splits his week equally between the sports ground and working in the College's gardens.
What do you enjoy most about working at Pembroke?
I think it's probably easiest to list the number the things that I hate doing, because I love it so much. Every morning I wake up and I'm buzzing because I'm coming to do what I do. I love the College. I started off working at the sports ground. And then I came to the College and I instantly fell in love with it. And we've all the grass with the trees and shrubs in the park. And I'm just always sort of captivated by it.
What does your apprenticeship involve?
When I first started I'd shadow other members of the gardening team, follow what they were doing and help them.
Six months in, I started online classes and I've had to document and upload my progress to prove what I've been learning, that I've done independent research and completed the tasks myself. I had a mock exam last week and I was told I would have got a distinction, if it had been a real exam.
What’s your favourite thing about gardening?
I really enjoy propagation and watching things grow: taking cuttings, growing them and watching them grow. I also love grass cutting. I hate carrying the leaves.
What do you hope to do next?
I want to train in other things, like spraying pesticides, laying turf, get a chainsaw licence. I basically want to do lots of week or day courses for maybe a year or so.
I'm split between the gardens here and sportsground. If I want to become a head groundsman, I will need to do another course, in lawn maintenance and grounds maintenance. If choose gardening, I'm going to have to do a Level 3 in botany and other courses.
Is it true you're designing the border in the Master's Garden this year?
I've been given a huge responsibility by Sarah [Claydon, Head Gardener]. It's probably the most important border in College. The Master wakes up every morning and will see it out his window - and he's an important dude!