Could you tell us about the background to your career?

My career in engineering so far is a very short one as I am only in the second year of my apprenticeship. During secondary school I took part in an engineering project called Greenpower, this involved designing, building and racing a battery powered car. I really enjoyed taking part in this and decided that engineering was for me. I completed two different lots of work experience at Siemens in Poole and loved every minute of it. I stayed at school for sixth form to complete my A-Levels but didn’t think that university was for me; so I started looking for engineering apprenticeships. I was offered a few but decided on Cobham due to the nature of the work carried out at and the quality of the training they provide. I have so far completed three apprentice placements in: KC46 programmes, design and aftermarket and I am looking forward to what the future has in store for me.

What have been the highlights so far?

The highlight of my career is being invited to Goodwood Festival of Speed by The Institute of Engineering and Technology to interview some engineers from McLaren. I was still at school when I did this and speaking to real engineers reaffirmed that engineering is what I wanted to do.

Why did you chose engineering?

Taking part in Greenpower at school introduced me to engineering, I enjoyed coming up with new ideas to improve the car, design how to implement these and then action them. We would then see the results of these improvements at the next race. I choose engineering as there are a variety of skills I would develop from the range of work carried out.

What are the challenges of your job?

So far I haven’t faced many challenges as everyone is very willing to help apprentices at Cobham. However sometimes it can be difficult to manage work, college assignments and NVQ, but I have always managed to stay on top of my assignments so this has never developed into a larger problem. 

What are your thoughts on the importance of diversity within engineering/in the workplace?

Diversity within people generates a diverse range of opinions; this helps with developing new ideas and problem solving, as someone else might think of a solution that I may never thought of. Due to this I think it important to employ a diverse range of people.

Why should people consider a career in Cobham?

Cobham works on a multitude of different projects and as someone who is only just starting their career - I like this as I’m not 100% sure where within engineering I would like to work. Working for such a large company with lots of projects will hopefully allow me to find my niche. Cobham also offers an excellent apprenticeship scheme that will allow me to progress all the way to degree level should I wish to.