Engineering wasn’t something that Connor had ever had his sights on during school. Throughout sixth form he was interested in business and having decided he didn’t want to go to university, he’d begun to look into business-focused apprenticeships. However, after delving deeper, Connor began to think twice about the opportunities they would offer.
“There were a few business apprenticeships that I had had found and some that I had been accepted onto, but the idea of working as a business admin on a one-year contract with no guaranteed job at the end wasn’t appealing,” he highlights.
Whilst looking into his options, he came across an advert for Royal Mail’s advanced engineering apprenticeship in the back of a newspaper. He may have never given engineering a thought before, but the more and more Connor heard about Royal Mail as a company, the more he wanted to join.
A change of career plans
“My enthusiasm and drive for engineering was created during the apprenticeship as it was something that I’d never really done before. For me, the engineering apprenticeship with Royal Mail was a foot in the door. Now that fire for engineering has been ignited, I aim to combine my love for both engineering and business management and hopefully move into an engineering management or training role further down the line.”
After three years working for Royal Mail Connor is now coming to the end of his apprenticeship. He’s found the experience very interesting and loved the different challenges he’s faced since joining.
Learning the basics
The apprenticeship begins with a 30-week residential based in Blackburn, where the recruits learn the core skills of engineering include fitting, electrical wiring, electronics, electrical maintenance and mechanical maintenance. Then the apprentices go on to their depots, meet their engineering team and begin learning what maintenance and faults occur on the mail processing machines they use.
“To start with, we were shown the basics of the machine and given a chance to carry out preventative maintenance on the machines in order to familiarise ourselves with the way they run, disassemble, reassemble etc,” Connor says.
“Once we were competent with our maintenance and knowledge of the machines, we moved on to some late shifts in order to gain experience of common and not so common faults that occur. We were able to experience the pressure of having to get a machine back up and running in time in order to get the mail out the door so that the first class items can be delivered on time.”
What to expect
“I didn’t know what to expect when I began my engineering apprenticeship,” he continues. “The biggest change and the biggest unknown was the 30-week residential. The scheme that I was on that year housed around 23 other apprentices and so meeting and living with those men and women for 30 weeks was something that I was unsure of. But I can happily say now that I have made some lifelong friends whilst training there from all over the country – which is handy if I need somewhere to stay if I’m away for the weekend!”
Now Connor is nearing the end of his scheme he’s also being given the opportunity to work solo shifts.
Going solo
“With Carlisle being a small depot, we are unlike other mail depots as we experience lone shift work. So now I’m coming to a time where I’m being given the opportunity to work alone, as that is what the job will be once the apprenticeship is complete.
“Although working alone is a daunting task, especially if you come across a fault you have never seen before, the training and experience I have gained has made me feel confident that I will be able to tackle it head on.”
IET apprentice membership
After joining the Royal Mail apprenticeship scheme Connor became an IET Apprentice member. This is something he’s found useful throughout his apprenticeship and plans to take advantage of in the future.
“As the IET has a partnership with Royal Mail, it is something that they offered as part of the apprenticeship and when we qualify we can become EngTech registered via the organisation,” he says.
“The IET comes with so many benefits that I imagine I’ll be finding new ones even when I’m retiring! However, I mainly use the IET for news and updates in order to keep up to date with the engineering community. As an apprentice with the IET, I have recently used its services in order to get in contact with a mentor who I can talk to as I progress my career and get advice on moving onto Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng) professional registration.”
Connor’s focus is now on gaining experience as a full-time shift engineer, and he also plans to look into further technical training.
Achievements
“I also have my eye set on hopefully progressing my NVQ Level 3 into a Level 4/5 HND and use the experience and knowledge gained from the qualification to move into an engineering management role and hopefully become an IEng or even CEng registered engineer,” he highlights.
“I am extremely proud of getting so far through the apprenticeship and, confirmation permitting, achieving an NVQ Level 3 in engineering operations. I am also proud of achieving the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award during my apprenticeship, as that is something that was extremely challenging but extremely fun to complete with the friends that I have made on this apprenticeship.
“I think most of all, I am proud of achieving the trust and respect of the engineers in my depot at Carlisle so much so that they feel I am ready to undertake a shift on my own and do the same job that they are doing with 30+ years of experience behind them.
The skills an engineering apprenticeship provides
“I cannot speak highly enough of engineering apprenticeships. Anyone who is thinking of applying for one should definitely do so and anyone who isn’t thinking of it should look in to it - even if you have never thought about engineering before like myself!
“One thing I have learnt over my time as an engineering apprentice is that if you have the mindset to be an engineer, then you have the mindset to be a manager, a trainer, an assessor and so much more. Being an engineer is more than just nuts and bolts, it’s about the mindset of prioritisation, solving problems, people skills, team work and many more qualities that are easily transferable to many different career paths.”
Originally published April 2016. Last edited November 2018.