4 minute read
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 recruiting young engineers, maybe the answer to the engineering skills shortage lies elsewhere. James Henson, Operations Manager (Design & Compliance) at Musk Process Services, explains how his company supported his development, and reaped the rewards.
EJ Musk's James Henson
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 eventually becoming the senior leader of the 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.
I always knew I wanted a job that I could develop into a career for life. I began as a semi-skilled carpenter. I also began an apprenticeship as a car mechanic leading on from this role, but could not support myself on the wage so returned 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 was first 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.
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. I completed the apprenticeship that I had always wanted and qualified in Mechanical Engineering and Design.
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. 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 EJ Musk’s James Henson. gained a qualification in Specialised Condition Based Monitoring Techniques.
After this, a colleague 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 but it has been made possible thanks to the open-mindedness of my engineering colleagues throughout my career.
I have learnt so much during my career with Musk, and I am so fortunate to have been given 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.
