Meet Rachael, 20, from Manchester, and find out more about life as an engineering technician apprentice in a Jaffa Cake factory. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.
Rachel:
I'm Rachel. I'm twenty years old and I'm an engineering apprenticeship at McVities. Growing up, I always knew that I wanted to do a practical job. I never really wanted to sit behind a desk. After I left high school, I did a two year BTEC in public services. When I finished my BTEC in public services, I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do with my career. I originally wanted to be an army engineer, however, I found that wasn't the career path for me. When I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do with my career, my dad introduced me to the apprenticeship scheme here at McVities and he did that because he also works here. I found that when I got this apprenticeship, it was a perfect job for me and I'm loving it so far. Typically, a day starts for me when I come on site. I go to my locker where I'll put on my health and safety equipment, my PPE, which is my personal protective equipment. That's my hair net, my overalls, my steel toecap boots, my hat. The PPE that I wear isn't there to just protect me, but also to protect the food from contamination.
The apprenticeship I'm doing is multi-skilled, that means I'm working in both mechanical and electrical engineering. Mechanical engineering involves things like milling and turning. Milling and turning is when you machine an object down to the right dimensions and in my job electrical engineering involves fault finding within a panel. And these panels dictate what happens on the factory floor. My apprenticeship is both academic and practical. I'm working towards two qualifications - one on site, working with experienced engineers and one at college, which is academic based. The subjects that I use from school are mainly Maths and Physics. For example, recently, I was building a conveyor system and had to use Pythagoras to work out the angle that the conveyor needed to be. I love the job that I do, because it varies day-to-day. I love that the engineering work that I do in the factory means that I can get the Jaffa Cakes, which are cakes, not biscuits, around the world.
I love that the engineering work I do in the factory means that I can get the Jaffa Cakes, which are cakes, not biscuits, around the world!
- Rachael always knew that she wanted to do a practical job, but wasn’t quite sure what. After completing her GCSEs, she completed a two-year Public Services BTEC. She considered becoming an army engineer but didn't feel quite ready
- Her dad worked at the local factory and told her about an apprenticeship opportunity, so she applied and now works as an engineering technician apprentice. She fixes problems on the production line and installs new equipment to improve the factory
- Rachael loves her work. She is working towards an NVQ Level 2, involving electrical wiring and fitting, and gets to practise her skills on the job.
What to expect if you want to be an engineer
- See what type of engineering role might suit you with the meet the future you quiz
- Find out more about the different areas of engineering with this guide from Tomorrow's Engineers
- Learn more about roles in engineering with the National Careers Service explore careers tool
- Discover a practical new way to study via T-levels (England-only).
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