{"id":5256,"date":"2025-04-25T08:49:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T08:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/?p=5256"},"modified":"2025-04-25T09:00:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T09:00:40","slug":"jamie-lau-our-newly-qualified-lab-technician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/jamie-lau-our-newly-qualified-lab-technician\/","title":{"rendered":"Jamie Lau – Our newly qualified Lab Technician"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CONGRATULATIONS JAMIE LAU – Our newly qualified Lab Technician<\/h1>\n

This spring we\u2019re celebrating success!<\/h2>\n

You may remember that back in February we marked National Apprenticeship Week by celebrating one of our brightest success stories – Jamie Lau. Since February Jamie has been working hard to finalise his studies, and following an intense two-day assessment, in addition to extensive coursework, we\u2019re proud to announce that Jamie is now a fully fledged Lab Technician and qualified member of the Petrarch team.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

This year\u2019s National Apprenticeship theme – Skills for Life – couldn\u2019t be more fitting. Jamie’s journey through the apprenticeship programme has seen him develop his technical expertise, real-world confidence and resilience.<\/p>\n

I had the opportunity to catch up with him recently and he shared more insights into what has been a truly intensive yet rewarding moment. Read on to find out more.<\/p>\n

Say hello (again) to Jamie<\/b><\/p>\n

Jamie joined us around 15 months ago as a TIRO Apprentice Lab Technician, working closely with our consultant chemist Trevor while studying TIRO\u2019s apprenticeship programme. Today, we\u2019re delighted to announce he\u2019s achieved his Level 3 and is now a fully-fledged Lab Technician here at Petrarch Panels.<\/p>\n

We recently caught up with Jamie to reflect on his journey, the challenges he overcame, and what it means to have reached this milestone.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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So Jamie, congratulations on completing your Level 3!\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

How does it feel to now be a qualified Lab Technician?<\/b><\/p>\n

Thanks! It feels amazing. It\u2019s been a long journey, but all the hard work has definitely paid off. I\u2019m proud of what I\u2019ve achieved, especially when I think back to how much I\u2019ve developed; not just in terms of my knowledge, but all-round really, it\u2019s been full-on.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Patrick (Operations Director) mentioned that the testing phase of the apprenticeship programme was intensive? Could you talk me through it?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, it was. I was so nervous, I barely slept the night before if I am honest, I felt anxious. I had revised and prepared, but still, it was nerve-racking. Luckily the TIRO team and my direct management team gave me the reassurance I needed. The first day was a mix of adrenalin and anxiety. There was a 3 hour observation stage; it\u2019s strange to carry out your work being analysed, but it\u2019s all a necessary part of the programme. On the second day, there was a 75 minute Q&A with the assessor, along with an interview. I didn\u2019t realise I could speak for that long, however the answers came naturally and I do feel that the apprenticeship has given me the confidence to talk through my reasonings with ease.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

What would you say has been one of your biggest accomplishments during your apprenticeship?<\/b><\/p>\n

Without a doubt having the chance to explore, get to grips and enhance our colour-matching process. It\u2019s one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of the job. You\u2019re not just creating something that looks good, but an end product which stands up to tough tests too, and some colours react very differently. I do enjoy that challenge. Some colours are especially tricky, but I\u2019ve reached a point now where I can approach complex mixes with confidence and get great results. That feels like a real accomplishment. Recently I\u2019ve been working on an exciting project for our US distributor, Omnis, and it\u2019s really opened doors to what we can achieve from a colour perspective, which is extremely rewarding.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Has the experience been what you expected when you started out?<\/b><\/p>\n

Honestly, I wasn\u2019t quite sure what to expect. But it\u2019s been better than I could have imagined. Being able to learn hands-on, in a real lab, with real project just speeds up your learning so much. Plus, the support from everyone has made a huge difference.<\/em><\/p>\n

Can you tell us a bit about that support?<\/b><\/p>\n

Trevor has been a fantastic mentor. He\u2019s shared so much knowledge and always encouraged me to ask questions, experiment, and keep learning. Aaron, my tutor at TIRO, has been equally brilliant; always there to support, guide and motivate me to keep moving forward. And the Petrarch team overall has been incredibly welcoming and invested in my progress.<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for you now you\u2019ve completed your Level 3?<\/b><\/p>\n

Now that I\u2019m fully qualified, I\u2019m really excited to continue developing in the lab. I have decided to undertake the natural next step, focusing on my specialism – Material Science, 4 years of further study which is the equivalent of a BA Hons. I feel ready for that. I\u2019m looking forward to further refining our colour-matching processes and material production in general, and maybe even mentoring new apprentices in the future. I\u2019m proud to be part of Petrarch\u2019s innovation journey.<\/em><\/p>\n

What kind of material innovations would you like to see and perhaps implement?<\/b><\/p>\n

Sustainability and ethically sourced raw materials is something that\u2019s important to me. I\u2019m proud of the fact that our Petrarch reconsituted stone rainscreen panels are created predominantly from crushed marble and stone, by-product material which would otherwise go to landfill. (Min 75%.) More of this would be great and as a team it\u2019s a priority to continue to champion sustainability and greener methods of production. We don\u2019t use water for example in our panel production, helping to save an essential world resource. There is so much potential to enhance things further, and I\u2019m continually looking to how we rationalise our recipes to accelerate workflow too.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

And outside the lab?<\/b><\/p>\n

Still the same, nothing changed on that score. I enjoy gaming, catching up with mates and never miss a Brighton match if I can help it!<\/em><\/p>\n

Tell us something people might not know about you.<\/b><\/p>\n

I actually studied animal husbandry at college before moving into science and lab work – quite the switch!<\/em><\/p>\n

A few words from the team\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

Patrick Golding, Operations Director<\/p>\n

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\u201cHuge congratulations to Jamie on this brilliant achievement. From day one, he\u2019s shown enthusiasm, determination, and a real eye for detail – especially in the specialist field of colour development. It\u2019s been great to see his skills grow, and we\u2019re thrilled to now have him with us as a qualified Lab Technician. He has played a crucial role in helping to develop our Petrarch panel recipes to date and is very hands-on. What\u2019s remarkable for someone as relatively young as Jamie, is the commercial acumen; that\u2019s rare to find and we are very appreciative of this mindset. Collaboration is also important to Jamie and that\u2019s refreshing, he is a true team player. Thank you also to Trevor, Aaron, and the whole TIRO team for supporting Jamie through this journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Hayley Hannaford, TIRO Account Manager<\/p>\n

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\u201cJamie\u2019s success is a great example of what can happen when you combine committed learners, expert support, and a workplace like Petrarch that really champions its apprentices. His growth, particularly in such a complex technical area like colour-matching, is so impressive. We\u2019re proud to have played a part in his journey.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Apprenticeships in action<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jamie\u2019s story reminds us why apprenticeships matter – not only do they equip individuals with skills for life, but they also fuel innovation and growth for the businesses that invest in them. Petrarch is proud to continue building a skilled, confident and creative workforce through these valuable programmes.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re excited to see where Jamie\u2019s career takes him next and look forward to welcoming future apprentices into the team.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5256"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5273,"href":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions\/5273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrarchpanels.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}