Ciaran Brennan

“I have always been interested in engineering and how things work. This stemmed from my grandfather, Christopher, a retired mechanic. He had a tremendous influence on me, and I have picked up so much knowledge and skills from him throughout my life, which encouraged me to enrol at SERC.”

“Having successfully completed my Level 2 Heavy Vehicle apprenticeship, I have progressed to the Level 3 Heavy Vehicle Apprenticeship. I am employed by John McQuillan Contracts based in Dundrod, and my role involves working as part of a team to maintain all the organisations vehicles including road surfacing vehicles, bin lorries and forklifts.”

“With the Level 3 comes a bit more responsibility and the opportunity to work more independently as your knowledge and skills progress, so I could be dealing with breakdowns and could be all over Northern Ireland or down South.”  

“Learning on the job and in college suits me in that I am continually building on my knowledge. I like the variety of the apprenticeship as one day I could be working on a heavy vehicle and another day, working on a van."

“My portfolio is going well. You do have to keep on top of it and we have online tests which have to be completed for each module. The lecturers at SERC are approachable, knowledgeable, and encouraging, they give one hundred percent and expect the same back. I hope to complete my Level 3 in the next year.”

“For someone interested in a mix of hands-on learning and study, then I would say this is the best course option. I would encourage anyone moving on from school to include apprenticeships at SERC in their research.”