A Team Leader apprenticeship combined with on-the-job training and support from his manager has seen Sam Vella successfully progress into a supervisor role, leading a team of 20+ security guards across two sites.
As Deputy Site Security Officer, Sam’s primary role is managing the welfare of his team, training new security guards and when necessary, acting-up in his manager’s position, as second-in-command.
Since joining Serco in 2018, Sam has completed two apprenticeship programmes and sees professional development as an important part of advancing his career. “The team leader course, the promotion into this supervisor role, and my manager have made me much more independent, assertive and confident,” Sam said. “The role has its perks as well, including my own office!”
Sam is proud to be part of a two-generation family legacy at Serco, following in his dad’s footsteps. My dad used to work for Serco,” Sam said.
“He told me about my first guard job and said it could be a great opportunity. People still come up to me and say, ‘you must be Richard’s boy!”
Sam’s original job as a Security Guard enabled him to complete two apprenticeship programmes in three years.
Since becoming a supervisor, Sam says he’s still learning on-the-job. “As a guard, you do the same job every day, whereas as the supervisor you can have a planned routine, but the day will almost never go according to plan. From having to find a replacement for a guard calling in sick at 1:30am, to responding to an unplanned fire drill, you have to adjust all the time, but I like the challenge of coming up with a solution at short notice.”
For anyone thinking about starting an apprenticeship, Sam’s advice is to go for it. “Have a look at all the options, there might be something you’ve always wanted to do, and Serco will pay for your programme! It’s a wonderful opportunity to take up, they really look after you, and these NVQs will help you for new job roles in the future.”