What made you want to get into engineering?
My family has strong connections to engineering so it has always been something I was aware of from a young age.
As a child I enjoyed construction-based toys as opposed to arts and crafts, so the signs of my interest in engineering first started then.
I later studied Engineering at school as a GCSE, this included many areas of engineering from casting and machining to computer aided design. This gave me a small insight into the vast world of engineering and was the first real indication that a career in engineering was right for me.
What is your career journey to date and how long have you been at Ferranti?
I started a 5-year apprenticeship at the age of 16 at Brush Transformers in 2007, during this time I gained hands on experience in the workshop learning about transformers and tapchangers while attending college on a day release basis where I studied from a level 2 PEO (Performing Engineering Operations) through to achieving a HNC and HND in mechanical engineering.
I then moved onto a service-based role within Brush transformers after completing my apprenticeship where I traveled the UK and offshore performing maintenance, repairs and retrofits of tapchangers and transformers from 11kV to 400kV.
I joined Fundamentals in 2016 as a service engineer in the HV services department. This role included predominantly maintenance of transformers and switchgear within power stations and wind farms.
In 2018 I joined Ferranti Tapchangers, a subsidiary of Fundamentals and have since been supported through a BEng in Engineering through the Open University.
What is your current role at Ferranti and what does this involve?
My role within Ferranti is as a service engineer, my day to day activities include attending sites across the UK for maintenance and repairs of tapchangers. When I am not on site, I lead the workshops activities on an 11kV Voltage regulator maintenance program we have with multiple DNO’s.
The role can be quite varied and I have had many opportunities to be involved with different tasks due to being part of a small team. Some of these activities include heath and safety aspects where I produce risk assessments and method statements for any works carried out.
What are your career aspirations at Ferranti?
As the company grows it will open up new opportunities for myself, however I would like to progress into a full-time project engineers role, this would be a natural progression for myself due to my current involvement with the voltage regulator program where I am coordinating the delivery of the works along with liaising with the customer on collection dates and expected completion dates.
But as the company grows other opportunities may present themselves and I feel it's important to be open minded on new opportunities for company growth along with my own personal and professional development.
Find out more about Fundamentals Ltd on their member profile page here
Member-created content 2 years ago | From members