In 2015, ESS embarked on our Apprenticeship Programme journey. Kevin Tynan joined the ESS Group as our first ever ESS Apprentice Electrician working on the ESS Maintenance Team at Birds Eye Pizza plant in Naas. Our decision to hire Apprentices was brought about by the need to ‘grow our own’. We experienced a shortage of qualified and experienced trades people with the strong industrial maintenance skillset that we required for continued growth in ESS, as apprentice numbers had been declining in Ireland over many years.

Since 2015, we have hired an additional five electrical apprentices for the ESS Maintenance Team in Birds Eye plus we now also have four apprentices on the ESS Team at Zoetis, Rathdrum in Electrical & Instrumentation and Mechanical disciplines. We are currently recruiting for one apprentice to be based in Birds Eye Naas (Electrical) and one apprentice in Birds Eye Longford (Electrical). So we are well into double digits with our apprentice numbers and growing all the time!

We would not be able to run the ESS Apprenticeship Programme without the dedication, hard work and expert input from our client companies not to mention the excellent on-site facilities they provide for our apprentices to learn their trade. Also massive credit is due to our own ESS staff who mentor and train the apprentices on a daily basis. Brid Gallagher our Recruitment Manager does an excellent job of managing the hiring and onboarding process for all our Apprentices as well as co-ordinating with SOLAS, the apprentices themselves and her key client contacts throughout all phases of the apprenticeship journey. Our Apprentices themselves are a credit to the company as the level of hard work and study involved is not to be underestimated.

Testament to the success of our Apprenticeship Scheme is that Kevin Tynan our very first apprentice, having gained some valuable industry experience elsewhere, has re-joined the ESS Group in a Lead Technician role as part of our start-up ESS Maintenance Team in our client facility Zoetis in Tullamore. We are thrilled to have Kevin back working with us!

Here’s to more success stories and the continuation of this one!