Originally published in Sheffield Star, 03.12.2021
There can’t be many universities that have a facility like the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, so I’ve been lucky.
The AMRC is a big part of the University’s Made Together programme to support local innovation and talent and has a purpose-built training centre which gives apprentice trained engineers like me a mix of academic expertise and industry-focused courses, with the resources of a world-leading research organisation.
I was 18 when I started here. I had just finished my A levels and really wanted to stay in the area. Lots of different companies send their apprentices to study at the AMRC Training Centre but I applied for an apprenticeship with the AMRC itself because they have fabulous facilities and were really keen to let me keep on learning.
I started off doing a BTEC Level 3 – a vocational qualification based on practical rather than academic study, alongside an NVQ Level 2 and 3 which focused on the practical skills alone. It meant doing four days each week at work with the AMRC and then a day in the AMRC Training Centre. I was able to take my studies to the next level once I finished the BTEC and last year got my Level 7 Bachelor’s Degree in Manufacturing Engineering.
I’m now 26, have been here for eight years and am a project engineer at the AMRC Gear Centre. I get handed the work, plan it and follow it through, do the CAD/CAM computer designing and programming and then go on a machine with an operator to produce the test pieces, or do virtual machining.
The flip side of the job is that it is very customer focused and I will do the engagement with suppliers - some of which are big, global names. One of my projects was to develop an efficient and easy-to-produce method of manufacture which Boeing could use to make gearing components at their new production facility in Sheffield - they didn’t want to change the product they were making, just the way they made it.
I’m a proud Yorkshire woman and my career highlight so far was earlier this year when I won the Made in Yorkshire Apprentice of the Year award, partly because of my work on the Boeing project.
I enjoy what I do and I’m alright at it. I’ve been here a while but the AMRC is still a good fit for me because I want to keep adding to my skills and learning from everyone around me - and also continue developing my career to more senior job roles.
My mum and dad have their own engineering company, Hallam Materials Handling ltd., and have always been really supportive. If the AMRC hadn’t existed, I would have ended up studying engineering at university but I have really benefitted from taking the apprenticeship route because of the practical learning.
As I’m sure the finalists in next week’s AMRC Training Centre Apprentice of the Year Awards would agree, having a facility like the AMRC, and opportunities to work with other partners through the University’s Made Together programme, can make all the difference to your career. I would recommend it to anyone thinking of taking the apprenticeship route into engineering.