Employer Spotlight - Kurt J.Lesker

East Sussex College has a wide variety of employer partnerships, providing apprentices with crucial opportunities to get industry-level experience.

ESC has worked in partnership with Kurt J. Lesker since 2018. Kurt J. Lesker is a global leader in the design, manufacturing and supply of high-quality vacuum equipment, for research and production applications.

Rhiannon Jones, Recruitment Coordinator at Kurt J. Lesker, said, “The Kurt J. Lesker Company and East Sussex College have been working in partnership since 2018. In that time, we have enrolled a number of our current employees onto various courses, including Mechanical Engineering HNC and an Information and Communications Level 3 Apprenticeship.

“As a leading global provider of high-quality scientific vacuum equipment, we are always looking for ambitious individuals to join our growing team. As a company that is passionate about up-skilling and retaining our workforce, having a local education partner who listens to industry feedback and can provide relevant courses is a huge benefit to us. We love being able to collaborate on various academic projects throughout the year and provide students with a better understanding and insight into the Kurt J. Lesker Company and the skills and attributes required to join our industry.”

East Sussex College is continuing to work in partnership with Kurt J. Lesker to provide a well-established manufacturing training programme.

“As an organisation that is passionate about facilitating exciting career opportunities within our industry, we are very proud to run a well-established manufacturing training programme,” said Rhiannon. “The programme consists of on-the-job training combined with theoretical training through East Sussex College.”

“In 2022, we took on our first corporate apprentice which has been a great success. The Kurt J. Lesker Company has ambitious and rapid growth plans for the coming years, and we will be expanding our corporate apprenticeship pool. We will be offering more opportunities for talented students to join our shared services teams through corporate Apprenticeships or traineeships.”

Some students may not know where to start in terms of finding an Apprenticeship suitable to their needs. Rhiannon spoke to the College about what advice she’d give to students looking for an Apprenticeship or Traineeship.

“The first piece of advice is look to continue your studies in an area that you feel passionate about and which suits your strengths and skillset. We, as employers, love to see aspiring and enthusiastic individuals who demonstrate a willingness to learn and succeed in everything they do, as it fits within our company values.

“In addition, always remember the importance of professionalism during the application process, but we still want to see your personality shine through! We want to hear all about your interests and what you do outside of work just as much as your previous work experience to date!”

If you’d like to find out more information about Apprenticeships at East Sussex College, please click here.