Engineering Career Transition pilot a success
Q: What does a former chef, a postie and a police officer have in common?
A: They all joined AWE on an innovative career transition pilot – moving from established non-technical careers to train to become qualified Engineers.
The Engineering Foundation Scheme is a first for AWE and unique in the UK. It allows experienced professionals with drive, ambition and the right attitude – but no formal engineering experience or qualifications – to join AWE and receive training, development and mentoring to become qualified engineers.
Recruiting people who have not followed a traditional engineering career path has a number of benefits. ‘Growing our own’ means that we are not fishing in the same talent pool as other local employers and competitors. People with a wide range of backgrounds bring different perspectives that challenge our traditional ways of thinking and approaches to problem solving. Offering an opportunity to people whose career choices have taken them down a different path supports our enduring commitment to social mobility. Looking beyond AWE, increasing the number of qualified engineers will help address a chronic skills shortage, which can only be a good thing for the national endeavour and UK plc.
The six people on the Engineering Foundation Scheme pilot are completing a one-year General Engineering Foundation Course at Buckinghamshire New University whilst working two days per week as Technical Administrators at AWE. They are being supported in their studies, particularly with the maths content, by some recent AWE graduates and are being mentored by experienced AWE line managers. Once they complete the Foundation Course, there is a range of onward career paths for them, in a wide spectrum of engineering disciplines, from staying in the Tech Admin / Tech Author field, through HNC/HND, to completing a part-time Engineering degree or degree apprenticeship.
We recruited for the Engineering Foundation Scheme using traditional channels: our website, LinkedIn, job boards and local careers fairs. When assessing applicants we focused on our behaviours and transferable skills – like organisation, time management, coping under pressure and delegation – alongside a clear desire to transition into an engineering career.
Mark, Head of Engineering Transformation explains the thinking behind the Engineering Foundation Scheme: “We are acutely aware that there are not enough engineers in the country to supply the defence sector and UK infrastructure plans. We asked ourselves if we could train people who had an innate drive and passion to change their career and learn something new, and realised with planning and the right support, we could.
“From a personal perspective, some people I grew up with are doing jobs they don’t enjoy and if they’d made different choices or been given the right opportunities, they could have been great engineers. What we’re doing with the Engineering Foundation Scheme is giving people an off ramp from the career path they’re currently on.”
Mark, Head of Engineering
With the pilot well underway, our thoughts are turning to a second intake. If you know anyone you think would be suited to the Engineering Foundation Scheme, ask them to email [email protected] for more details.
