Thinking of changing your career? With a severe shortage of skilled, qualified engineers in the UK there has never been a better time to enter the world of engineering. Read on to discover how one man has made the leap and hasn’t looked back…
After completing a 3-year degree in Horology and learning his trade Andrew Matheson went on to successfully become a business owner, running his own clock repair and restoration company. As time passed the future of the trade became a concern with clocks becoming increasingly less fashionable. Andrew then thought about transferring the skills he had learned as a horologist into engineering.
Andrew decided that with a family to support an apprenticeship would be the best route into his new chosen career, allowing him to train and earn at the same time.
Fast forward and we see Andrew attending an ‘Apprentice Assessment Day’ with William King Ltd, a company that has worked in close partnership with MGTS for a number of years to develop their next generation of skilled engineers.
William King Ltd has always been a company which has prided itself in supporting local schools and apprenticeships, and upon recognising the qualities that Andrew would bring to their engineering team as a mature learner they had no hesitation in offering him a position as an apprentice Multi-skilled Maintenance Engineer.
Apprentices spend their first year of ‘off the job’ training at an MGTS Technical Centre learning core skills and knowledge competencies in engineering and manufacturing.
Andrew tells us “I received great support from both William King Ltd and MGTS during my first year of training which involved additional challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Completing the BTEC element of the programme meant a new way of learning via an online portal, which everyone quickly adapted to.”
The company was even more delighted with their decision when Andrew achieved the title of ‘Apprentice of the Year’ at the MGTS Apprenticeship Awards, an annual event that recognises and celebrates the achievements of first year learners.
Adrian Simkiss, Customer Engagement Manager at MGTS comments “We encourage applicants of all ages to register for our Engineering Apprenticeship opportunities. As William King Ltd has rightly recognised, often mature learners will bring a completely different set of skills to their organisation and can set a great example to younger apprentices.”
Andrew started working on site at William King Ltd in September 2020 and has proven to be an important team member contributing to a very busy department.
If you would like to discuss transitioning to a career in Engineering don’t hesitate to contact the MGTS Apprenticeship Recruitment Team on 024 7663 0333 / recruitment@mgts.co.uk