Matthew Wainwright

Having taken a vocational route into engineering, Matthew found that Professional Registration was a great way to demonstrate that his skills and competencies were equal to those of colleagues who had chosen a higher education pathway. 

Developing new skills

Matthew began his career as a trainee welder fabricator on the same business estate that he works at today. He progressed to mechanical fitting of various products across multiple industries, where his work included attending factory shutdown maintenance, removing large machinery and overhauling components.

He also spent time installing new machinery, including traction lifts, across the country before moving into the rail industry where we worked on door and HVAC systems.

“All these roles gave me opportunities to develop my skill set, teaching me how to problem solve and deal with customers. They helped mould me into the person I am today,” he says.

Becoming a junior engineer

Today Matthew’s role is to assist workshop staff and field service engineers with condition assessments and trial projects across a wide range of engineering-related tasks. He is the first of his kind at this facility, as the role was only recently introduced, and Matthew was approached to apply for the position.

“At the time I was working as a field service engineer; a fully hands-on role out repairing trains and components at customer depots. During quiet spells I’d assisted the project engineers in the engineering office with new projects and documentation updates,” Matthew explains.

“I applied for the position and was thankfully successful. This job has now developed into a methods/junior engineer type of role, with my responsibilities growing in tandem with my skills and confidence. Essentially, I measure my success on the tasks I am given, and the faith placed in me.”

Acknowledgement of competencies

As Matthew hadn’t had the opportunity to achieve an HNC or higher, he wanted to find a way to showcase his skills and demonstrate that his knowledge was equal to colleagues who had taken a more academic route into engineering.

“I watched an IET webinar on EngTech and decided I could achieve what I was looking for with Professional Registration,” he explained.

Journey to EngTech

That same day he applied to become an IET Technical Member (TM), a simple process that only required a few basic details and a copy of his NVQ 3 qualifications.

Upon gaining his membership, he was then eligible to apply for an EngTech Professional Registration status, and so he wasted no time, logging into IET’s Career Manager system straight away and starting the online process.

“Career Manager was very good and easy to navigate. The application was a simple process and I was guided through the various stages easily and efficiently. I particularly liked that you could save the application at any point and return to it when ready.

“My application was then assessed by an IET Fellow, who then arranged an online meeting to discuss my application and offer his feedback. I found this access to IET Fellows very useful in aiding my application. I then submitted it, and a few weeks later I received my certificate and became a proud EngTech member.”

Life after registration

Becoming Professionally Registered has grown Matthew’s confidence, in turn making him more efficient and open to trying new challenges in the workplace. Pushing him out of his comfort zone has also impressed Wabtec management and made him even more of an asset to the company.

He feels that achieving an EngTech status has helped him two-fold.

“Firstly, it gave me something to focus on and showcase the skills I’d learnt to date – sometimes I forget what I can do! Secondly, it’s built my confidence, proving to myself that I can still achieve things and progress.

“Back when I was 16, I thought I’d be a welder for the rest of my life, with no hope of achieving anything else. I’m proof that with hard work and a little luck, anything is possible!”

Matthew has no plans of slowing down either and would now like to work towards Incorporated Engineer (IEng) status and potentially gaining a HNC or HND to complement his skill set and experience. “With the extra qualifications I could apply to become a mechanical engineer,” he says.

He continues to record his CPD using Career Manager, which “helps me to look back at my achievements and areas where I can improve. I frequently take a copy to show my managers and colleagues to ask their professional views on where I could go next to grow my knowledge. I’d also really like to support others in my position to achieve their own career goals,” he concludes.