Meet Harrison Ward, a Reliability Maintenance Engineering Planner for Liberty Steel UK, who developed his problem-solving, leadership and project management skills, after achieving a Distinction on his Level 3 Improvement Technician Apprenticeship and Lean & Six Sigma Yellow Belt with us. Discover how Harrison has implemented new Lean & Six Sigma processes at Liberty Steel.
What skills were you looking to develop before starting your Level 3 Improvement Technician apprenticeship?
I wasn’t 100% sure what skills I was looking to develop when I first started my apprenticeship, I was very new in my role and had just started my job so I guess anything to help me with that would have been what I was looking for.
“The time I spent there taught me more than just the tools. As the months went on, I grew more confident in my role at work.“
How have you applied what you’ve learnt on your Level 3 Improvement Technician apprenticeship at Liberty Steel?
I have definitely developed my skills in project management and leadership, I have been in many roles in the past, where I was managing a team but most of them required you to think on your feet and react quickly to actions.
Since I started learning about ‘root cause’ it’s allowed me to take a step back, look at the bigger picture, and plan for future change and development rather than just reacting. I’m now able to implement a structured method of work, conducting root cause analysis on any bottleneck problems, resulting in fewer delays across the business.
Since completing the Level 3 Improvement Technician apprenticeship, my role has expanded, and I have taken on supporting other departments. Within this, I have been able to apply some of the skills I have learnt and have changed some of the processes the departments were doing into a more lean and structured way, improving the results and benefits across all departments.
Tell us about your experience at Whyy? Change?
When I first walked into Whyy? Change? I was very nervous and didn’t know what to expect. As the first session went on, the team at Whyy? Change? were friendly and welcoming. Each week, I got to know all the team there, as well as the other apprentices and I really looked forward to catching up with them the next week. I really enjoyed my experience and it was great getting to know everyone!
What advice would you give to apprentices?
Don’t be nervous and get to know your team, everyone in your group will start to get to know each other personally but they are your team and your support network. Make sure you share anything you think is blocking your learning and get talking about how each other would overcome this. I learnt a lot from speaking with my team on the course and discovered new ways of working and thinking, just through working as a team.
Any other feedback you’d like to share?
Go in with an open mind and don’t hold back, put the tools to work as soon as you can. “Don’t be a tool monkey”.
The time I spent there taught me more than just the tools. As the months went on, I grew more confident in my role at work. I could see results and felt the achievements, this encouraged me to continue to think about the next changes, but also with the confidence to approach more people within work to show them how and why we should be doing things differently.
