U.K. National Apprenticeship Week, taking place March 14 – 18, 2016, celebrates apprenticeships and the positive impact that they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy in the U.K.
The Westinghouse Springfields Apprentice Training Scheme continues Westinghouse’s legacy of nurturing engineering talent and has been producing highly skilled and qualified engineers of the future for over 65 years. Today it aims to supply Westinghouse with bright, talented and enthusiastic young specialist engineers for the growing nuclear “new build” arena in the UK. Currently, 30 percent of the workforce at Springfields has gone through the site’s apprenticeship program.
Twenty one year old Heather Lovell is one such trainee engineer. Heather is currently undergoing a Higher Apprenticeship in Advanced Manufacturing. “I’m in my first year of my Higher Apprenticeship at Springfields and I’m really enjoying it,” said Heather. “When I left school I initially went to university but found the course involved too much theory. The training scheme at Springfields allows me to use and apply my learning in much more practical ways, which I find more enjoyable and rewarding. My favorite subjects at school were science and math, which provided an initial interest in engineering.”
Heather’s training will cover all the necessary core skills for her career, from electrical to mechanical, plus basic skills for other areas. Along the way she will acquire the necessary academic qualifications leading to an Engineering Degree (Hons).
“I haven’t quite decided what my final engineering discipline is going to be and for the moment I’m just concentrating on learning about all aspects of engineering. I will decide on my future as my training progresses and I gain more experience and insights into the different engineering disciplines. It could be product design or project management, or something quite different!”
No matter which discipline Heather chooses, she firmly believes her future as an engineer will be with Westinghouse.