In recent months Amanda and Harvey have joined the Rompa team as part of the Government’s apprenticeship scheme. Amanda has taken on the role of installations administrator and Harvey is learning the skills to be an IT technician. As a business, the apprenticeship initiative means that we can give two young people that crucial “foot in the door” and introduce them to the world of work. Read on to find out how Amanda and Harvey are finding working for Rompa:

Amanda Godfrey – Installations Administrator

As I previously worked as a care assistant, my interest was always trying to make the lives of others better and more enjoyable. This paired up with Rompa brilliantly as it is a company that creates educational/ calming/ fun environments for people with sensory impairments and other disabilities.
As I have studied A Levels for two years, I have become very organised and able to meet deadlines and work under pressure. These skills transferred brilliantly into the role I applied for as it is based around administration.

Before I came to Rompa I was working as a domiciliary carer for the elderly, mainly people with dementia. This involved going out to the service user’s house and providing as much or as little care they needed. It ranged from making them breakfast to hoisting them out of bed.

This is my first full-time job, as I previously only worked part time due to studying a levels at college. It is very different to being in education as you get on the job training and knowledge that can only be gained through doing an apprenticeship or placement.
The most interesting aspect about my role is making the product information packs and the installer’s packs. By putting these together I get to see the design of the sensory rooms as well as the visual of what it will look like after it is complete. I also get to learn about the different kinds of products that are used in both sensory and soft play rooms and how they are used.

The skills I have brought with me are being organised as that was a skill I had to learn through studying A levels, being able to work to a deadline this applied for essays at college and also working to a timed rota at my previous job. Being able to work in a team or independently is a skill I developed working as a carer because certain service users had two carers and others only needed one which meant you got to work with others but also developed skills working individually.

The skills I’ve had to learn whilst on the job is using my initiative a lot more, as an apprentice you are being trained by someone else and if this person is busy you have to think for yourself and decide what tasks you can complete on your own and what things you need further training on. I have also developed better communication skills as my role includes liaising with customers over the phone. This was something I wasn’t comfortable with before, but since working for Rompa I have become more confident talking to customers.

I am definitely being kept busy! On a daily basis I check job cards, look at orders in suspense, enter data into spreadsheets, and create documents such as job sheets, risk assessments and service agreements. I put together product information packs and the documents that the installers take with them to each job. I arrange appointments for site surveys and confirm dates for installations. I send out checklists to customers and update the installer’s diary with all the relevant information so that all of the engineers know where they are supposed to be and what they will be doing there. My day flies by, but in my opinion this is a good thing. I love every aspect of my role and the people I work with, I love learning new things every day and being able to make my colleagues jobs a little bit easier.

Harvey Lewis – IT Administrative Support

I joined Rompa as an apprentice I.T technician in September 2014. Before joining Rompa the only work I had ever done was at school so I was obviously nervous as I had never been into a work place before but the team couldn’t have made me feel more welcome.

I’ve always had an interest in technology and spend much of my time uploading videos to YouTube and growing my own gaming channel which I had been doing for 3 years. I have also taught myself to use graphic design packages, motion graphics and video editing software. I’ve always loved playing around with technology and solving problems with my home computers. Having got to grips with the software aspect of IT I thought I would change direction and apply for an apprenticeship and learn about the hardware side to broaden my opportunities.

I got paired with Rompa because the passion I show for technology and also all the work I have done over the past few years in IT and at school. I feel that with my experience in design software I can really bring something to the company and can help troubleshoot issues with these packages, but I also feel that I can learn a lot as well. I chose an apprenticeship because I know I am a person who learns a lot better by doing a task rather than having it explained to me by watching someone else do it. An apprenticeship just suited me better than college.

This is my first job and the biggest difference I find is being a lot more independent, personally I prefer working compared to school because it is mostly learning on the job by actually doing a task. And everything I learn is something I have an interest in which just makes the days more enjoyable. After being with Rompa I have already learnt a whole lot about networking, servers, hardware and the list goes on. I have enjoyed my time with the company so far and I am definitely pleased to be an apprentice at Rompa.