Machinist Technician Apprentice

Gurjevan is a Level 3 Machinist Technician Apprentice who joined the programme after discovering his passion for hands-on engineering through school work experience. Now in his third year he’s gained valuable CNC machining skills and confidence through both technical and office-based roles.

How did you hear about the GKN Aerospace apprenticeship?

I’ve always lived in the Bristol area, and everyone knows about the GKN Aerospace Filton site because it's right in the city. I did engineering at GCSE and I'm more of a hands-on person, so when GKN Aerospace came to my school I applied to do work experience with them. They walked me through everything on the production lines, and I even had the chance to build a carbon fibre car. I absolutely loved it.

After that, I went to all the GKN Aerospace open evenings and familiarisation days, then I applied and thankfully I got in.

What attracted me so much were the opportunities in aerospace engineering, and that there's always room to grow yourself here. I personally believe in never getting too comfortable and always pushing yourself. And in engineering, you can branch out anywhere you want.

What was the application process like?

As a 16-year-old applying for a job for the first time, I found it very simple.

After getting through the initial online application we had a team building exercise in a group of five people – teamwork and team building are fundamentals here. We had a series of little puzzles to work out and they gauge how you talk to people. It was really fun.

How is your apprenticeship structured?

It’s a four-year apprenticeship and I’m in my third year. On the first day, all the apprentices had a tour on site, and then we did some exercises just as icebreakers. After that we had two induction weeks at the college in Weston-Super-Mare. It was all about getting to know each other – they integrated us really well.

In the first year, we spent five days a week in college, where we worked a lot with lathes and did manual milling work. During the college holidays you come into work on site – we had little projects to help with familiarisation.

In the second year you have two days a week at college and three days at work. That’s a good mix, because it breaks up the week and you get to know more about the work. Mostly, we work on CNC milling machines, but there are CNC lathes as well, and there’s a lot of investment in new machines.

Now I’m in my third year as a machinist, I don't go to college, but I know the fitters still go one day a week. I'm working on site now, and then next year, I'll be working 12-hour shifts, three days a week. I’ll basically be like a qualified worker on the shop floor, but still learning. Then I’ll have a Level 3 qualification, and with that you can go pretty much anywhere you want in the engineering industry.

What skills have you learned?

One of the things I’ve developed is my confidence. When I broke my wrist and couldn’t work on the shopfloor, the apprenticeship managers arranged for me to go into procurement, which involved talking to suppliers and people in different companies. I didn’t have the confidence to do that, but they took their time and taught me how to communicate in the right way.

I'm also running machines by myself as a machinist and that is quite a hard thing to do.

How much contact do you have with other apprentices?

There are two GKN Aerospace sites in Bristol, at Western Approach and Filton. All the apprentices go to the same college in the first year, so I’m based in Filton, but I have mates in Western Approach who I still see every week.

GKN Aerospace really help to build those connections. In the first year, after you’re familiar with everyone, they take all the apprentices on a week away in Devon, and we made so many memories there. We were in our own lodges and every day, we went out doing climbing, raft building, lots of team exercises, so we were still learning. That week away was an absolute blast, so it really stood out to me as a highlight.

Also, apprentices from other local companies like Airbus and Rolls-Royce went to the same college as well, so I still have mates there. We always have that connection.

What are your personal interests outside work?

I’m the kind of person who wants to push myself as much as I can, so I'm always doing sports. For example, I have a boxing fight coming up soon and I’m pushing myself in training for that. And I also play rugby.

Since I started engineering, I’ve also found myself working on cars a lot and using the skills I've learnt. I do find that very interesting.

What are your ambitions for the future?

I do want to stay here – it’s a great working environment and there are always opportunities to improve and grow. I could stay as a machinist if I wanted, but there are places to grow and learn and I want to be the best at everything I can. So, I’d like to rise within GKN Aerospace, either as a machinist or maybe something else in the office.

There are no restrictions, because as an apprentice here, you can branch out into so many different things, from areas like HR or procurement to technical or hands-on work. I really think GKN Aerospace caters for it all.