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Values, teamwork and mountain climbing – a week with Telent’s graduates and apprentices

Kick-starting the careers of graduate and apprentice workers at Telent involves more than just learning the specifics of the role, whether it’s in engineering, project management or any of the professional routes we offer.

Our Early Careers Programme is focused on providing young professionals with opportunities to grow their professional network and build their resilience – all while promoting engagement through inclusion.

July’s programme this year saw a group of 49 Apprentices and Graduates spend a week in Eskdale with the Outward Bound Trust. The teams worked through a number of outdoor teambuilding activities, such as climbing a mountain gorge, team project, climbing and taking part in an overnight expedition.

Activities were centred around Telent’s Values and Behaviours and, paired with reflection and feedback from their peers, participants were encouraged to understand how their personal learning and development can have practical applications within their role at Telent.

Over the week, colleagues from Telent embedded themselves into each of the groups to help support the participants. At the end of the week, each team presented a summary of the experience to a group of visitors from Telent, including Peter Moir, Managing Director – Network Services. Many of the teams drew parallels between what they’d learned at Outward Bound and their day-to-day working life, with common themes on the importance of safety, teamwork, and inclusion.

Peter Moir, MD Network Services

“I was delighted to be able to join the Graduates and Apprentices for the last 24 hours of their week at Outward Bound and to meet and chat to all five groups. I was so impressed by how they all worked together and absolutely demonstrated our core Telent Values. You could tell they all got a lot out of the week by challenging themselves and making new connections and networks across the business. The great weather (particularly for the Lake District) and the beautiful yet challenging setting of the Western Lakes also helped!”

Seb Flint, Graduate & Apprentice Coordinator

“The Apprentices and Graduates were really impressive over the week. They threw themselves at the challenges they were presented with and took everything in their stride. Each of them embodied Telent’s Values throughout the programme. At the end of the week, they each developed in their own way and demonstrated how they plan to put their learnings into practice when they got back to their day-to-day roles. It will be a week that everyone will remember for a long time to come. A big thanks goes to everyone that supported the week, from both Telent and Outward Bound.”

Mary Nwodo, Engineering Graduate

“Reflecting on the week, I realised that even though these activities weren’t directly related to the telecoms industry, they taught me a lot about myself. I saw that I was too comfortable sticking to what I knew, when in reality, life often demands we step into the unknown. Being in a supportive group (and a positive work environment) that continuously encouraged and cheered me on helped me to complete all the tasks and exceed my own expectations. As the week progressed and the activities intensified, I started feeling more comfortable with myself and my ability to tackle new challenges, even when they were daunting. Instead of overthinking all the possible scenarios of how things could go wrong, I just did it without thinking!”

Jack Gould, Field Operations Apprentice

“Before I came to Outward Bound I really didn’t know what to expect but by the end of the week, I felt like I really got to know the other people in my group and take part in activities that were exciting and fun – especially the Gorge walking and rock climbing. These activities also gave me a chance to leave my comfort zone and take more of a lead role. This is something that I can try to implement into my day to day job.”

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