• What does an Apprentice Multiskilled Maintenance Engineer do?

I carry out maintenance activities to ensure longevity of machinery, as well as looking for new ways to increase efficiency and reduce waste.

• Give a description of a day in the life of an Apprentice Multiskilled Maintenance Engineer

A day in the life for me starts out with a brief of the issues the night shift have encountered, the targets we would like to meet for the day ahead and any site wide news we need to be aware of. I complete work requests throughout my day as well as planned maintenance while learning new skills in the electrical field as well as welding.

• How did you end up in this job?

I had a plan which was set out for me to take up a career as a sports scientist, I dropped out of university as it just was not the right fit for me. Whilst I never had an engineering role model, I knew it was a career that I might explore one day, as growing up I have always been intrigued by how things work, and interested to know how to make things work or fix something. I enjoy being presented with a problem and being able to find the solution, the sense of learning and achievement is second to none. Therefore, becoming an Engineer was the obvious choice for me when the opportunity presented itself! What advice would you give to someone thinking of pursuing this career? I would say if you are given the opportunity, start while you are young and absorb all the information that the engineering world has to offer, be ambitious and bold.

• What’s the best thing about your job?

I believe that the best thing about my job is being able to make a difference to the way production runs, this can be done via all avenues such as innovative thinking to make improvements. As an engineer the skills I am developing over time can help numerous different departments, being recognised for aiding operatives and management in issues they have is extremely rewarding.

• Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

In 5 years’, time I see myself in a managerial role such as a team leader while potentially going through higher level qualifications to allow me to progress either in engineering or management, I see myself with a depth of engineering knowledge and sufficient experience to take the next steps in my career.

• If you could give your 16-year-old self some career advice, what would it be?

My advice would to be to consider all of the options available to me and to not be influenced by others on their opinions of apprenticeships and different learning routes as everyone takes different paths.