My Journey since Leaving School
When I left school in 2008 I was always wanting to become an apprentice in the electrical sector. I struggled to find and apprenticeship so I went to college and spent 2 years getting my electrical installation qualifications full time. In my last year I was constantly trying to find apprenticeships out there as my next step up would be to get qualifications in the engineering background. I applied to STEGTA to help find an apprenticeship to start my career where I could earn money as well as gain industry recognized qualifications.
Mettler Toledo had a vacancy for an Advanced Electrical/Electronic Engineering Apprenticeship this is where I applied having to carry out a full interview/presentation day with a factory tour.
After being offered the vacancy my career now was on the roll and I knew I had the opportunity to set me up for life if I worked hard and passed all my college work and NVQ work.
During my 4 year apprenticeship I gained the following:
- BTEC Electrical/Electronic Engineering ONC
- BTEC Electrical/Electronic Engineering HNC
- NVQ Level 2 Electrical/Electronic Engineering
- NVQ Level 3 Electrical/Electronic Engineering
- Advanced Engineering Apprenticeship Certificate
Now I was set up for life with qualifications and 4 years engineering experience, I had been offered a job as a Final Test engineer, this is where we electrically and functionally test our products and sign them off to say they are fit for purpose before the product is delivered to the customer.
Due to my drive for success and always wanting to challenge myself I knew that I didn’t want to be doing this job for the rest of my life. I had covered team leaders whilst they were working away off site for 3 weeks at a time and supervised the production line during my apprenticeship. This short experience 100% sold me down the management path, rather than the technical development path such as heading over to research & development (R&D).
I expressed this to my team leader (Adam Moss) at the time, who was previously my apprentice mentor. I asked if I could firstly volunteer to help with the apprenticeship program and become an apprentice mentor with him. He took me onboard to help improve, support and restructure the apprenticeship program.
April 2018, I applied and was successful for a new job role/development opportunity which was the Team Leader Trainee Program (TLTP). With this new role my responsibilities included learning all the different leadership processes on the different production lines around the business. To support the team leader and performs leadership duties when the team leader is absent. I have also gained my ILM Level 3 management Qualification December 2018.
December 2018, a job vacancy was advertised “Depot Repair Team Leader”. This was a line that didn’t have a specific team leader and was having a complete re-structure with processes and team expansion. This was a line that needed to be started again with a clean slate. I applied for this role and was success full as this was another big step up the ladder in Mettler Toledo.
I have currently been working in this role for a month now and loving every minute of it. I have a team of 7 Depot Repair Engineers and all our apprentices also report to myself. I also still help mentor our apprentices with Adam Moss on a daily basis.
Overall I feel that I have set myself up for life, I can keep aiming to climb the ladder into senior management.
Without this apprenticeship, also my own hard work and commitment, I wouldn’t be able to have any of the following:
- Bought 4 bedroom house at the age of 21.
- Bought myself a brand new BMW when I was 21.
- Travelled to lots of exotic locations (Australia, Jamaica, Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela and many more).
- Engaged to my fiancée Olivia.
- Expecting our first baby girl April 2019.
“Think smart and set your foundations for a successful and enjoyable future”
Adam Harris