Joshua Allsopp, marine engineering apprentice at Smith’s Boatyard, Cornwall is developing fast…

Meet Joshua Allsopp, one of our 2021-22 sponsored apprentices, employed at Smith’s Boatyard in Cornwall. Josh has quickly developed a very impressive wide array of high level technical skills. He is learning his off-the-job training at Falmouth Marine School.

Joshua told us: “Ever since I started my apprenticeship in September 2021, I have learnt so much and I have had a huge development of my knowledge…one of my favorite tasks has been the service of the water taxi on the camel estuary. I did this when I was on work experience, and once again since I started my apprenticeship…I really enjoy doing this due to it being so different to typical work in the yard as it takes lots of preparation beforehand and working on the water is more challenging”.

He is receiving excellent supervision and instruction from the senior engineers in the Yard, and the off-the-job training at Falmouth Marine School has complemented the on-the-job training in the workplace. Josh said: “At college I was tasked to remove the head of a 4-cylinder Vetus engine. I was able to do this comfortably due to work I have done at the boatyard. I used skills and techniques I picked up when doing similar jobs.”

Josh nicely summed up his feelings for the apprenticeship at this mid-way point in the year:  “I would greatly recommend an apprenticeship to other people following a similar path to me, as I have greatly improved my skills and my knowledge. It has also given me a great head start in the industry, as before my apprenticeship I had little to no engineering experience in the workplace.”

Well done Joshua – a star marine engineer in the making!