A selection of the United Kingdom’s top aviation engineering apprentices gathered recently at HMS Sultan, in order to help to prepare them to compete at the nation’s largest skills, apprenticeships and careers event, The Skills Show.
A total of nine of the mechanical and avionics competitors took part in the two day master class within the Defence College of Technical Training’s Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School (RNAESS) ahead of the Show at the NEC Birmingham on 16-18 November.
During the visit, avionics apprentices were taught practical hands-on tasks such as fault diagnostics, crimping, soldering and functional testing and mechanical apprentices were taught about metal fabrication, riveting and helicopter inspections.
In addition all the apprentices were taught further skills in time management and how to work well under pressure.
Among those taking part is QinetiQ Avionics apprentice Matthew Milford, who said: “I’m currently in the fourth year of my studies with QinetiQ and loving my apprenticeship.
“I’ve just finished the more theoretical side of it and now I am out in hangars working on Hawks and Alpha Jets and doing daily maintenance.”
“The training week has given us a good head start and it’s taught us skills for dealing with stress and also given us a flavour of what we can expect.
“I now feel a little more relaxed and it’s put us in a good position, before our skills go on display to the public.”
WorldSkills Expert, Aircraft Maintenance, Martin Yates said; “What we’ve found is that this workshop gives them an ideal flavour as to what the competition is going to entail and the time management and attention to detail required.
“By doing this training it will pay dividends and they will perform closer to expectation at the Skills Show.”
“At the Skills Show there will be nine mechanical finalists with four competitors within avionics, with two avionics among the apprentices taking part today and the other two Royal Navy trainees who will learn the majority of the skills required while under instruction.”
“The top mechanical students from the Skills Show will spend another week training, before the top students from among them get selected for another 12 months training.
“One of them will then be selected to go on to Russia as part of Squad UK at World Skills Kazan in August 2019.”
