People Profiles

Mat - Engineering Apprentice

Mat has just started the second year of his Electrical Engineering Apprenticeship. After his first year spent on an intensive college based course, he is enjoying the chance to put everything he’s learnt into practice.

‘The theory work in the classroom was great, but I have to admit I enjoy the challenges on the shop floor the most. I’m at the stage where I’m learning the fundamentals of my trade- soldering, wiring, crimping- but working in this environment, you get to see the really complex, advanced things as well. And because it’s aerospace, the standards are extremely high. In other industries you might take shortcuts, but here everything you do has to be absolutely perfect. That makes it a great place to develop your professional skills.’

Apart from the technology and precision engineering, what attracted Mat to MBDA was the opportunity to earn and learn at the same time.

‘For me this apprenticeship is the perfect combination; I get plenty of hands on experience, as well as day-release to college, so I think I’ve got a big head start over other people who just work, or just study. And earning a wage from day one is a big plus too, obviously!’

Mat’s biggest surprise so far has been the way he has been treated by his colleagues. ‘I came straight from school, where being younger always meant not being taken seriously. But that’s just not the case here. I learnt that right at the beginning when we were taken on an outward-bound team-building course. I assumed that because I was only seventeen, nobody would really listen to me, but I was treated with the same respect as everyone else. That’s true in the workplace as well- nobody has sent me off to ask for a left-handed screwdriver or a long weight. Yet!’