Tell us about about yourself…

Before I joined The Rakem Group I studied History, ICT and Business at Holy Cross College for a year. I spend a lot of my free time with friends playing games of snooker and pool, and of course enjoying a few nights out. I’m lucky because many of my friends also do apprenticeships at other local businesses.

Why did you choose to join The Rakem Group?

I joined The Rakem Group because I wanted to get into work early, in college I realised that a different style of learning would be better, and I could also start earning in a full time role. I already knew people working at Rakem, so had an insight into how supportive the company is and that there are always new opportunities as the group is growing. I didn’t need to think twice.

How would you describe your role in five words?

Varied, challenging, innovative, educational, methodical

What is the most important thing you have learnt from your apprenticeship to date?

I have learnt that to succeed it is important to help others and also ask for help, and not necessarily from your own department. The key to a successful business is that each person working in the company should help one another and therefor creates an open and friendly environment.

What does a normal day look like?

From when I first started working in the lab at Rakem I was there to learn and slowly take on projects of my own. I’m currently responsible for some of my development and projects with the help of my manager. Each day is very different to the next, one day I could be looking into different formulations and the next I could in the plant, monitoring production. Having the opportunity to work in the warehouse with production educated me in how the products work and the importance of chemistry behind them.

“Dan has been a great asset to our Technical team here at The Rakem Group and goes the extra mile when needed. He is showing huge promise and this will only continue to increase as his experience grows. Dan is a perfect fit and a great team player; he is already contributing a great deal to development projects and quality systems and I look forward to Dan’s progression and continuing development with The Rakem Group going forward.”

Andy Byrne – Technical Manager