Royal Air Force Sergeant wins IET Armed Forces Technician Award

Sgt Wathan, 37, from Royal Air Force Marham joined as an Aircraft Airframe Technician in 2003 and in 2008, after successfully completing his trade assimilation course, became a Mechanical Aircraft Technician (Airframe/Propulsion).

During his career, Sgt Wathan has been deployed on numerous exercises around the world, undertaking various roles from Maintenance Engineer to Mechanical Trade Leader. Gary was also responsible for leading the design of RAF Marham’s Power Applications, focused on delivering aircraft engineering risk management, assurance oversight and process improvement.

His current role in Engineering Standards and Evaluation sees Sgt Wathan mentor over 450 maintainers from across the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. As an active STEM Ambassador, Gary also delivers workshops across his local region, with the aim of inspiring the next generation to pursue a STEM based career.

On winning, Gary said: “I am honoured to have been awarded the IET’s Armed Forces Technician Award. It is wonderful to have my achievements recognised by other engineering professionals and to have been a finalist alongside people who are experts in their fields. I am very grateful to the opportunities I have been given during my time with the RAF and hope that I am able to inspire others to take up a rewarding career in engineering.”

The IET Achievement Awards exist to recognise individuals from all over the world who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of engineering, technology and science in any sector. This can be through research and development in their respective technical field or through their leadership of an enterprise.

Professor Bob Cryan, IET President said: “Sgt Gary Wathan has shown enthusiasm and determination towards everything he puts his mind to and it’s great to see that he is also sharing this with other engineering professionals through his work as a mentor.

“The standard of this year’s entries made choosing a winner extremely difficult and I’d like to commend the other finalists on their commitment to engineering and technology and for demonstrating passion and skills that go above and beyond their day-to-day roles. I wish all of them the best of luck for a rewarding engineering career ahead.”

The Achievement Awards are part of the IET’s Awards and Scholarships programme, which celebrate excellence and research in the sector and encourage the next generation of engineers and technicians. All IET awards seek to inspire and reward engineering excellence, including apprentices at the start of their careers, through to reputable, established professional engineers and technicians.

Notes to editors:

About the IET:

• We inspire, inform and influence the global engineering community to engineer a better world.
• We are a diverse home for engineering and technology intelligence throughout the world. This breadth and depth means we are uniquely placed to help the sector progress society.
• We want to build the profile of engineering and technology to change outdated perceptions and tackle the skills gap. This includes encouraging more women to become engineers and growing the number of engineering apprentices.
• Interview opportunities are available with our spokespeople from a range of engineering and technology disciplines including cyber-security, energy, engineering skills, innovation, manufacturing, technology, transport and diversity in engineering.
• For more information, visit www.theiet.org
• Follow the IET on Twitter.

Media enquiries to:

Rebecca Gillick
External Communications Manager
E: rgillick@theiet.org

Emma Taplin
Senior Communications Executive
E: emmataplin@theiet.org