22 Skills
Keep an open mind to develop the best engineering talent
With many businesses in the industrial sector experiencing difficulty finding young engineers to bring into their business, maybe the answer to the engineering skills shortage lies elsewhere. James Henson, Operations Manager (Design & Compliance) at Musk Process Services, explains how his company saw the potential, supported his development, and reaped the rewards.
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sk someone to think of a ‘typical’ engineering career path and they will likely say something along the following lines: Specialised apprenticeship at 16 or 18, qualify, become a team leader, then supervisor, working towards heading up a team or site and possibly and eventually becoming the senior leader of their firm. However, what if some of your potentially best engineers did not, or could not follow that path? Are you and your organisation thinking outside the box when it comes to recognising and developing engineering talent and future business leaders? If you are not, my story might help you to see how you can... My current role is as Operations Manager at Musk Process Services. In this position, I lead the Engineering Compliance and Design department; however, my journey to where I am now definitely wasn’t straightforward. Without other engineers and mentors offering me the opportunities that I couldn’t access on my own, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today; a professionally registered chartered engineer and leading our Design Department. I always knew I wanted a job that I could develop into a career for life. I began as a semi-skilled carpenter, which I did immediately after leaving school as I was unaware of the direction I wanted to take. I also began an apprenticeship as a car mechanic leading on from this role, but could not support myself on the wage so retuned to the previous role to pay bills and save. This allowed me to eventually pursue my ultimate goal, as an apprentice engineer. It was after this that I first was made aware of Musk, (then Peme) and was successful in joining the company as a computer-aided design (CAD) technician. It wasn’t an apprenticeship; however, it offered the opportunity to get into engineering, which was my goal. The position also came with the potential to develop further and turn it into a lifelong career. Although my title was CAD Technician, I was an ‘office lackey’, taking on many jobs and tasks from the engineers. I worked hard, though, starting early and staying late, which caught the Managing Director’s eye. He offered me the opportunity of pursuing an apprenticeship with the company despite the fact I wasn’t the typical ‘straight out of school’ new recruit. The academic year had already started when I was offered this new and exciting role, which required further hard Quarter 1 2021
James Henson (ctr.) with colleagues Stef Smith (l) and Clive Wardle (r).
work, catching up with several weeks of college work. Nonetheless, I finally completed the apprenticeship that I had always wanted, qualifying in Mechanical engineering and Design. I am not the only late-starter apprentice at Musk, by far. Some of our best engineers have been offered the opportunity to train and qualify when already working for the organisation. This Includes one of the design engineers within my team who was working in a factory before starting his apprenticeship. Furthermore, one of our most newly qualified apprentices has just finished his course in his late 30’s, after working for us as a fitter’s mate. I really believe that engineering companies can benefit from having an open mind when it comes to apprenticeships and offering development opportunities to their existing and older staff, as well as taking on recruits directly from education. My opportunities to expand my skills and knowledge continued after my apprenticeship, and much of this can be attributed to the mentorship I received from my managers and more senior engineers at the time. Once I had qualified through the apprenticeship, I was encouraged to lead design and
“Some of our best engineers have been offered the opportunity to train and qualify when already working for the organisation.”
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