6 minute read
Skills: Keep an open mind to develop the best engineering talent
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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James Henson (ctr.) with colleagues Stef Smith (l) and Clive Wardle (r).
Ask 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
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 installation projects which gave me a good grounding in most aspects of our business and my trade.
After broadening my knowledge, I was offered the opportunity to move into the Reliability Engineering Department, to widen my knowledge of asset care and the business. Under the guidance of Senior Reliability and Condition Monitoring Engineers, I completed an HNC. I also furthered my skills and gained a qualification in Specialised Condition Based Monitoring Techniques, such as Thermography and Ultrasound. Again, without my peers’ support, I would never have had the opportunity to expand my engineering knowledge and develop into the engineer I am today.
The Senior Management Team within Musk really believe in others and make it a priority to encourage and enable other colleagues to develop internally. I was extremely fortunate to be mentored by Steve Wiles, an experienced Design Manager, and Darren Martin, our current Operations Director, who included and supported me in establishing the engineering compliance arm of the business that I currently influence. I recognise the mentorship that I have received, and now I want to give that back. I’m grateful to be in a position where I can support other engineers in the business to develop their careers in the same way as I’ve been supported during mine.
Musk has been an Enterprise Partner of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) for many years, but in the most recent year, Darren and I decided to begin the Professional Registration Programme with the IET. This Professional Registration, which we jointly developed, demonstrates to our clients the high level of engineering skill, experience and expertise within our business. It also provides recognition for our more experienced engineers and key talent within the business. Within the development of this new programme, I was able to offer the opportunity to eight engineers. The areas of specialisms and levels varied hugely, evident in the presence of a Reliability Engineer and also our head of Asset Care. This was a new opportunity for me to provide support not only to my direct reports but to my peers and senior engineers. Currently, half of the initial cohort has been awarded the Chartered Engineering Status CEng, including myself. This is something I would never have considered a possibility at the age of 16 when I was doing carpentry but it has been made possible by the open-mindedness of my engineering colleagues throughout my career.
I’m not sure what’s next in my career plan, l like to keep an open mind to all opportunities. My ultimate goal is to prioritise gaining the knowledge of all opportunities so I can share them with others and enable my team to reach their highest potential, while I continue to develop.
I have learnt so much during my career with Musk, and I am so fortunate to have been given the roles and learning opportunities throughout this time. Mentoring by fellow colleagues has been truly life-changing. I feel that apprenticeships are often stereotyped to young, school leavers; however, many others can benefit hugely from them. Every day we are learning, and there is so much more knowledge to acquire. We have recognised that it really doesn’t matter at what stage you are within your career; you can always advance yourself. We have developed learning opportunities which not only benefit colleagues but also our wider business partners.
