Institution news
The week-long competition gives apprentices the opportunity to meet and share best practice, create common thinking and forge relationships across the engineering community. At the event, run by Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), craft and technician apprentices from across the defence community pit their engineering skills against each other, in individual and team challenges.
The Institution sponsors the Individual Design and Manufacturing (Phase 2) element, which was won by Tom Diaper-Fox, a mechanical engineering apprentice with DSTL. The runner-up was Chloe Garland of DE&S.
At the annual Ministry of Defence apprentice awards ceremony, held in London in December, Tom was delighted to receive his award from His Royal Highness:
“I was pleased to be able to represent DSTL at the awards ceremony. Looking to the future, this award enables me to demonstrate my capabilities as I progress further with my career in a high profile environment.”
The Defence industry is the largest employer of apprentices in the UK, with 9,000 engineering apprenticeships, and a total of 20,000 apprenticeships across a range of disciplines. Apprenticeships are a crucial way to develop the skills required by employers and to provide people from all backgrounds, with the opportunity to obtain skills that will contribute to their achievement in the workplace.
Tom reported that the atmosphere during the event had been positive and enjoyable, with good social interaction between participants, although they kept focused on the tasks before them. “There was also a strong feeling of competition between all the contestants as we all fought to win in our respective disciplines.”
He added that taking part had required him to utilise his skills in a demanding situation:
“One of the best benefits to me of taking part is that I got to challenge my engineering ability to take on a task in an unfamiliar subject area and work under pressure, planning my time effectively and adjusting it to meet the required deadline.”
Engineers within the Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence can find out more about professional registration with the Institution by contacting Jill Dwyer, j_dwyer@imeche.org.