Meet Cassie Leicester, former Engineering Advanced Apprentice and now Vice-President, Off Wing Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul EMEA & Americas in Civil Aerospace.
I’ve been in Rolls-Royce for just over 17 years, starting my career training as a Machinist on an Engineering Advanced Apprenticeship, gaining valuable on the job experience and appreciation of what we do at the heart of our company. The apprenticeship gave me a fantastic foundation balancing both practical and academic qualifications. This experience fuelled my ambition and curiosity, and I was offered a place on an apprentice leadership scheme, which was a three-year structured programme focused on gaining a breadth of experiences. During this time, I worked and relocated across all of our UK sites and also had an international attachment in the U.S. The scheme also sponsored me through a Masters degree at the University of Warwick. Since then, I’ve held various leadership roles across Civil Aerospace and Defence, working across multiple geographical locations and cultures. Which leads me to my current leadership role in our Aftermarket Operations.
Honestly, when I joined Rolls-Royce, I didn’t know what type of career I wanted, and I certainly didn’t appreciate the scale of the company and the opportunities available. Even 17 years on I’m still learning and challenging myself.
I believe that our apprentices are the heart of our organisation. They ensure continuity of our products, they bring a curious mindset to support further development and innovation in what we do, and they are our talent pipeline in whatever path they choose to follow, Machinist, Electrician, Fitter, Engineer, or even our next senior leaders.
The hands-on experience you gain as an apprentice is a huge asset and gives a solid appreciation of the skills and knowledge it takes to design, manufacture, assemble and test our products. Throughout my career I have often pulled on the experiences I gained to either help navigate me through challenges or appreciate certain situations. An example being a machine breakdown when I was leading an operational plant. I knew from running CNC machines myself how frustrating it is when there’s a machine breakdown, and I also appreciate what expertise and time it takes our maintenance and electrical engineers to get the machines back online – this experience is invaluable in managing those situations now as a leader.