A few weeks ago, Bradbury welcomed two new apprentices. Jason Bagg and Isabel Mead joined our Engineering Academy after doing a trainee mechanical engineering course at HETA. They have both written about their experiences in engineering at HETA, and at Bradbury, so far.
Isabel
My name is Isabel Mead, I am 16 years old, and I joined Bradbury as an apprentice three weeks ago.
Whilst at school, I worked part-time before going on to study A Levels at college. However, I was only there for a short amount of time before realising that this path wasn’t for me. After deciding that I wanted to work in the engineering field, I joined HETA on a mechanical engineering course.
At HETA, I learnt skills in mechanical maintenance, hand-fitting, and pneumatics. My main interest was the design aspects of engineering, and I was lucky enough to be offered an apprenticeship in the R&D department at Bradbury.
During my time at Bradbury so far, I have been given tasks such as modelling exit hardware and creating drawings for the other apprentices. The software can be really challenging at times, however, I am already starting to come to terms with SolidWorks!
Over the next few weeks, I will be visiting every department in the company in order to get an insight into all the different stages of the work place. It will be interesting to see the way each department fills a critical role in one big process.
I enjoy engineering due to the fast-paced environments, the variety of tasks involved, and the many opportunities it presents. After finishing my apprenticeship through HETA, I hope to continue working at Bradbury, and be a part of the ever-expanding company family.
Jason
My name is Jason Bagg, I am 17, and I have recently started an engineering apprenticeship within the Bradbury Group.
After finishing school, I worked over the summer, and realised that I enjoyed hands on work more than being in a classroom. I decided an apprenticeship would be perfect for me and, as I had an interest in engineering, I applied for a trainee scheme in mechanical engineering at HETA.
Whilst at HETA, I learnt all the basic skills I needed to start a career in engineering. I was then offered an apprenticeship at Bradbury, where I hope to continue developing these skills throughout my time in the R&D department.
Since starting at Bradbury three weeks ago, I have already begun to build up my skills in SolidWorks, which is software that we use almost every day. Everything that gets made is modelled inside SolidWorks, so getting to grips with using it comfortably is essential to my mechanical design role.
I have visited almost every department; learning what each department does, and seeing how the entire company is run. This gave me the opportunity to get an insight into what is involved in making the end products that will reach our customers. During my tour of the factory, I was even taught how to weld in the R&D workshop!
Over the next three years, I will be completing my NVQ Level 3 qualification, whilst working at Bradbury, and being assessed by HETA. After I have finished my apprenticeship, I hope to secure a permanent position in the R&D department at this award-winning company.
For more information on the Bradbury Engineering Academy, or to read more of our apprentices’ blogs, please visit https://bradbury-group.com/join-us/bradbury-academy/.
