Support and opportunity

Rachel Fitzpatrick joined Persimmon as an administrator when she was 17. But with her passion for engineering, it wasn’t long before we encouraged and supported her to sign up for an apprenticeship. Now 21, Rachel’s already been promoted, and is using the company’s Sharesave scheme to save for a home of her own.

I spent a whole summer on placement at Persimmon before starting a degree in musical theatre. So when I realised my uni course wasn’t for me, I got in touch with my old team. When they told me the door was always open, I jumped at the chance to go back. Initially, I joined as an administrator, but I’d always been interested in engineering. Persimmon are really good at training young people, so it didn’t take long for them to offer me an apprenticeship.

Since then, I’ve been studying and working full time, including two years at college and a year at university. It means that as well as learning on my course, I can learn from the best in the industry. Now, I’m an Assistant Design Engineer, I work in the technical department alongside technicians and I’ve already learned so much.

For me, the great thing about Persimmon, is the way they support and train so many young people – they really do care. They’re introducing even more new stuff to help us all, and the opportunities for progression are fantastic.

I’m 21 now, but I’ve already had so much experience. I got a promotion in December, and in five years’ time, I’ll be miles ahead. Now, I’m using Persimmon’s Sharesave scheme to save a deposit for a home of my own.

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