Meet Our Apprentices: Lois Turner

The SGS apprenticeship scheme is the perfect way to develop skills, build confidence and smoothly enter a rewarding career in the packaging industry. Following a highly successful initial year, which saw apprentices join our offices at The Maltings and Bridgehead, this year we’ve welcomed a fresh intake in Hull and Tamworth. Lois Turner is now starting Level 2 of her apprenticeship in our Tamworth office. We caught up with her to find out how she’s finding her training and role so far.

Lois is 22 years old and before joining SGS she had worked in the clothing department of Sainsbury’s for three years after completing her A-levels. She enjoyed her time there but knew that she wanted to pursue a more creative and fulfilling career, which is when she saw that our company was taking on apprentices.

“I was mainly attracted by the practical side of the apprenticeship,” says Lois. “I was always interested in the applied subjects at school, such as art and IT, so I knew I wanted to enter a career that followed on from this.”

Lois adds that she chose SGS because we offered specific opportunities that she may not have found elsewhere: “There are many roles within the company that I get to learn more about before deciding which I would like to pursue, so I’m not limited to one specifically. Also, there are not many offerings similar to this apprenticeship in my local area, as a lot of jobs within this particular industry are usually found in major cities.”

If you follow us on social media you’ll have seen plenty of fun and interesting activity taking place at our Tamworth office. As with many of our apprentices, the SGS company culture is a major benefit to morale and productivity: “The building itself is modern and open plan, which I was initially drawn to. Although the environment is professional and focused there’s a great social aspect and everyone works together toward a shared goal.”

We’re delighted that Lois is enjoying her apprenticeship so much and it’s very clear that our way of working makes all the difference: “I think SGS is fair and allows everyone to have equal opportunities within the company. I know that if there are any issues there’s always someone to speak to in order for them to be resolved quickly. Everyone is very supportive and cares about my progression within the business.”

Regarding her role, Lois has spent time with different accounts and learning about their processes. Through this insight and experience she can form a clear idea of which type of job she would like to pursue at the end of the apprenticeship: “I’ll get the chance to sit with different members of each account, such as artworkers, QC, project managers and team leaders to get more information about their roles. The teams I have already worked with have all been welcoming and supportive when it has come to my training.”

As well as getting a feel for what everyone does at SGS, Lois is developing a variety of skills: “Before starting my apprenticeship I had little experience using Adobe software, so for the first couple of weeks I was learning about Illustrator and I’m now much more confident with it. At the moment I’m studying Quality Control within the Coca-Cola Europe account, however, I also looked into artworking during the couple of months I spent with the GSK account, so my new knowledge is wide-ranging.”

Whilst Lois explores more about each account, she has been allocated fellow apprentice Jade Howard as a buddy. Jade is moving on to Level 3, so her very recent experience of Level 2 is an ideal method of giving Lois that extra bit of one-to-one guidance. As for the future, Lois is still deciding which route to go down, as she finds multiple roles very interesting, which perfectly reflects the range of career opportunities available at SGS.

Outside of work, Lois enjoys going to the cinema to see action movies, comedies and thrillers. She’s also getting back into drawing and painting, which were passions of hers whilst at school but had to be put on hold during sixth form: “Now that I have more spare time at the weekends, I would like to start creating a personal portfolio of artwork.”

We’re sure you’ll agree that our apprentices are very inspiring and are together forming the next generation of innovative packaging specialists. If you’re interested in apprenticeships at SGS Packaging Europe, which are open to people of all ages, please contact information@sgsco.com.