We caught up with Hannah, who is an Apprentice Design Engineer based in our Hull Office, to find out more about her career journey so far.
For National Apprenticeship Week, we spoke to Hannah about her career journey so far and why she would recommend others starting in industry to consider an apprenticeship:
“At school I studied in A-Level maths, chemistry and 3D design. And at GCSE, the core subjects, design & technology, art, Latin and geography. On from A-Levels, I chose to do a law degree and this wasn’t my first choice. I’d applied for various other universities for design subjects and product design and civil engineering. I had an unconditional offer, but my maths result wasn’t quite what I expected. So, I went through clearing to do law as a backup option.”
Despite making this decision, Hannah very quickly realised that this wasn’t what was meant for her and soon decided to make a big career change.
“When I told everyone I was doing law they were a bit like, are you joking me, that’s not what you’re interested in. It’s not what you’re good at. We know what we always thought you’d go towards and that is something in engineering, specifically aerospace.
“I did a year of that and it wasn’t really my cup of tea. Through school design technology was my strongest subject by far. I got a nine at GCSE and 3D design I got an A* at A-Level, so it’s definitely one of my strongest subjects. And one that I enjoy the most. However, my physics at GCSE, again I just very much base it off my grades, but it was a bit of a confidence knock, which is why I didn’t go for the aerospace and I went more towards civil and structural.
“I was looking for another job or another course to do, and I found this job at Morson Projects where I’ve landed on my feet, really. I’ve always been interested in engineering and how things work.”
Watch Hannah’s interview below:
Hannah found herself joining the Morson Projects Early Careers Development Programme. This programme was created by engineers, for engineers, designed to empower early careers employees to develop their skills and knowledge by utilising the existing pool of experience within the business. This includes tailored training plans, mentors, and collaboration with other engineers on the programme.
“I went on the Early Careers Development Programme Day very early on into my career at Morson Projects. I’d only been here a month before I went on the Early Careers Day, the annual event, and that was really good because I got to meet loads of older graduates, people in the same position as me, and it just opened up the whole business really.”
A day in the life of an apprentice
Working with client Leonardo, Hannah’s day starts early:
“I come in for about seven and on Leonardo’s I work on build line CRs, as part of a team. We’ve got people in Bristol, here and Yeovil, it’s build line CRs so I impact and implement CRs. So it’s looking at a change that is needed on the build line, looking at the best solution, whether their solution suggested is good enough and then making the changes to go forward with.”
Hannah demonstrates that even if you initially go down a different route with your education, it’s still possible to get to where you want to be thanks to the ability to ‘earn while you learn’ through an apprenticeship.
“You’ve got to go with your interests. If you’re not interested, I don’t think it’s for you. And if you are interested and you’re not confident that you can do it, I’d still go for it. For me, it was very much my confidence. I didn’t think I’d be capable of it, but if you enjoy it, I think you can do anything as long as you enjoy it and you can put your mind to it. I think if it’s something you are really interested in and you’re excited about it and you can see yourself doing it every day, then just go for it. Don’t go for something that you would not want to sit and do it for hours. It’s not worth it!”
Jordan Knapp, Chair of the Early Careers Development Programme, shared:
“Our Early Careers Development Programme has been created for engineers, by engineers. It has been designed to attract, develop and retain the best future talent in our industries to allow Morson Projects to continue to deliver market leading engineering consultancy solutions to our clients.
“We do this by empowering our early careers employees to take ownership of their own continual professional development with a structured career path framework.
“We’re absolutely delighted to have Hannah onboard, she is already proving to be a valuable member of the team, and I look forward to seeing her journey progress, aided by a wealth of knowledge and support around her, here in Hull and across the wider business. Good luck for tonight’s awards!”
To find out more about the Morson Projects Early Careers Development Programme, click here >