| Good morning everyone. |
| My name's Janet Parker and I'm the human resources manager. |
| We're very happy to welcome you to your new apprenticeship. |
| I hope that the next six months will be a positive and enjoyable experience for you. |
| I'd like to start with some general advice about being an apprentice. |
| Most of you have very little or no experience of working for a big organisation |
| and the first week or so may be quite challenging. |
| There will be a lot of new information to take in |
| but don't worry too much about trying to remember everything. |
| The important thing is to check with someone if you're not sure what to do - |
| you'll find your supervisor is very approachable and won't mind explaining things or helping you out. |
| You're here to learn so make the most of that opportunity. |
| You'll be spending time in different departments during your first week |
| so make an effort to talk to as many people as possible about their work - |
| you'll make some new friends and find out lots of useful information. |
| As well as having a supervisor, you'll each be assigned a mentor. |
| This person will be someone who's recently completed an apprenticeship |
| and you'll meet with them on a weekly basis. |
| Their role is to provide help and support throughout your apprenticeship. |
| Of course, this doesn't mean they'll actually do any of your work for you - |
| instead they'll be asking you about what goals you've achieved so far, |
| as well as helping you to identify any areas for improvement. |
| You can also discuss your more long-term ambitions with them as well. |
| Now I just want to run through a few company policies for our apprenticeship scheme with you... |
| Most importantly, the internet. |
| As part of your job you'll be doing some research online |
| so obviously you'll have unlimited access for that |
| but please don't use it for personal use, |
| you'll have your own phones for that. |
| Some of you have already asked me about flexible working. |
| After your probationary three-month period, |
| some of you will be eligible for this, |
| but it will depend on which department you're in and what your personal circumstances are. |
| So please don't assume you'll automatically be permitted to do this. |
| I want to make sure there's no confusion about our holiday policy. |
| Apart from any statutory public holidays |
| we ask that you don't book any holidays until after your six-month apprenticeship has finished. |
| Time off should only be taken if you are unwell. |
| Please speak to your supervisor if this is going to be a problem. |
| You'll be expected to work a 40-hour week |
| but there may be opportunities to do overtime during busy periods. |
| Although you're not required to do this, |
| it can be a valuable experience - |
| so we advise you to take it up if possible. |
| Obviously, we understand that people do have commitments outside work, |
| so don't worry if there are times when you are unavailable. |
| As you know, we don't have a formal dress code here - |
| you may wear casual clothes as long as they're practical - |
| and the only restriction for shoes we have is on high heels for health and safety reasons. |
| Comfortable shoes like trainers are preferable. |
| There's a heavily subsidised canteen on site where you can get hot meals or salads cheaply. |
| Snacks and drinks are also provided - |
| so we've decided to introduce a no packed lunch policy. |
| This is partly to encourage healthy eating at work |
| and partly to stop people from eating at their workstation, which is unhygienic. |
| OK moving on to... |