Four of our female apprentices discuss their motivations, what projects they have been involved in so far, and what advice they can give to other women hoping to apply for an apprenticeship.
Why did you choose to become an apprentice?
Annabel Hibbert, 19, Engineering Higher Apprentice
I was sponsored through sixth form by Rolls-Royce via an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship, and it was through this that I spent a week at the company doing work experience. That week completely changed my view of apprenticeships (my original plan was to study engineering at university), and it was the encouragement from the people and ex-apprentices that I was with that made me search for the application process to come to Rolls-Royce. My first day as an employee at the company was less than a year later, and I’ve never looked back!
What is your favourite thing about working at Rolls-Royce?
Kiran Samra, 19, Project Management Higher Apprentice
Rolls-Royce is a world recognised company with a reputation of being incredibly reliable and therefore there is a large sense of pride in being a Rolls-Royce employee. As it is such a large company there is also the opportunity for huge amounts of diversity within roles and therefore it is possible to constantly be involved in new projects experiencing different challenges.
What is the most exciting project you have worked on during your apprenticeship?
Harriet Simes, 20, Supply Chain Management Higher Apprentice
Since starting my apprenticeship, the most exciting project I have been on is an improvement project set up to help reduce a product lead time by improving the speed of an external process performed by a sub contracted company. I was the sole point of contact for this company and it was my responsibility to manage the flow of material out to the organisation, make priority calls on the order the material was processed and communicate to relevant stakeholders within Rolls-Royce. This gave me the chance to work with a wide range of people, improve my ability to make decisions under pressure as well as my communication and management skills. This was a large amount of responsibility but I had the opportunity to take ownership over a project and its performance and as a result, make a real difference to the supply chain unit’s performance.
What advice would you give to other women considering an apprenticeship?
Hannah Naqwi, 17, Advanced Technical Apprentice
To any woman considering doing an apprenticeship in engineering then I would definitely recommend it as choosing the apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce is the best decision I have ever made. If you are not fully sure then I would suggest doing some work experience in the business that you are considering applying for, so that you can start to understand what the sort of work you could do.