The launch of the upskilling programme, which was devised by Morson Projects’ in-house Trainers and Technical Publications experts, is an important milestone as we work with clients such as Leonardo to bridge the industry gap and deliver training that is bespoke and specifically tailored to our client’s needs.
We caught up with Trainers, Mike and Kyle to find out more about their career history and why upskilling ex-forces personnel to help address the resource shortage for Integrated Support Engineers in the Southwest of England has been a critical milestone in providing skills to industry.
Hi both! Tell us a little bit about your careers history?
Mike:
I joined the Royal Navy in 1996, aged 16 and became the youngest Aircraft Engineer on Merlin when it was introduced in 1998. I stayed on Merlin, working on front-line and second-line squadrons until I left the Navy in 2005.
I then worked on various Merlin platforms such as Depth Maintenance, mid-life upgrades, and new build. I hung up my tools and moved into technical publications in 2015 and have worked my way up to an ISE (Integrated Support Engineer), currently working as a platform lead.
Kyle:
I had a lot of military family and I was the typical 16 year old not knowing what I wanted to do with my life, I joined the Navy at 17 as an Aircraft Engineer, knowing that the skills will help me in later life.
After 14 years of service I left and trained as an ISE (Integrated Support Engineer). I have been in Product Support Engineering for 5 years as an ISE with experience in rotary and unmanned aircraft.
In total I have 19 years of experience with military aircraft.
How did your role evolve into training?
Mike:
Morson Projects needed to provide suitable personnel to our client. So we developed a training program to take Mechanical Engineers, who have valuable first-hand experience on the aircraft, and train them to be technical authors with a robust succession plan in place for them to become ISE’s.
Having walked a very similar path to our first group of cohorts, it was a natural step to deliver the training in a way that meant they would easily get to grips with the very technical and challenging role. The first cohort proved a great success with the customer and have already integrated as key members of our team.
Kyle:
As I gained experience in the role and ended up as one of the platform leads it was only natural to pass that knowledge on to junior members of the team.
What do you enjoy most about being a trainer?
Mike:
On this occasion, I enjoyed watching people transition over the two weeks from only having the hands-on mechanical experience to understanding the technical publication side and how that previous experience really plays a key part.
There’s a lot of information to take in, and it’s interesting to see the different personalities evolve with their own lines of questioning to help them understand what is being taught.
Hearing positive feedback from the different areas of the customers’ business is rewarding, but the biggest reward is the cohorts themselves. Because of the training and approach Morson Projects have developed, we have a team of experienced and skilled personnel who are all eager to progress through the succession plan, and I’m sure they will all have a long and positive career with Morson Projects.
Kyle:
Seeing the trainees gain in confidence and knowledge. From the first day like rabbits in headlights thinking they’ll never know what they are doing to things making sense and clicking.
How has your practical ‘shop floor’ experience enhanced the training programme delivery?
Mike:
Having used the product our clients deliver to service the aircraft for most of my career, I had a lot of questions when I first started as a technical author as I struggled with certain aspects of the job. I set up the training plan as if I was being trained again, ensuring I explained all the why’s before I showed them the how’s. This approach has allowed us to condense the training and produce highly skilled technical authors.
What real benefit does training like this provide clients (such as Leonardo Helicopters) with?
Mike:
Our cohorts were working on Leonardo products to varying degrees and looking for other challenges. Between them, they boast 70 years of experience on the EH101. Rather than lose them from the EH101 community completely, and lose that valuable experience and knowledge, Morson-Projects have provided them with an opportunity to utilise their knowledge and continue to provide value to Leonardo Helicopters.
Kyle:
We/Morson Projects can take the burden of training from the clients and train/mentor a well-rounded ISE that has the level of skills industry expects, along with specific business rules for a client.
What’s next?
Mike:
We are looking to train more cohorts for Leonardo Helicopters early 2023, as well as developing our training plan to deliver it to multiple customers across the industry.
Kyle:
Helping the junior team members grow with the business. Some development courses for ourselves and then on to the next group of trainees. It’s an exciting time for the team, with the growth of Product Support Engineering.