APPRENTICESHIP GUIDE 2016
Letitia Miller is in the second year of her electrical engineering MA with Diageo, the multinational alcoholic drinks company
APPRENTICE PROFILE:
THE ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
When Letitia Miller started working part-time at alcohol business Diageo’s Leven operations, she had no idea it would lead her into a Modern Apprenticeship and a really exciting career. “I chose a Modern Apprenticeship because I thought it was a great way of working and earning, and learning at the same time,” she explains. “I wanted to work my way up in a company, and felt that doing a Modern Apprenticeship would be the best way to get where I wanted.” Letitia is now in the second year of an MA in electrical engineering, part of a four-year programme. She’s hopeful that, at the end of the MA when she’s fully qualified, she’ll move onto a permanent role with the drinks giant.
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QUALIFICATIONS As part of her MA, Letitia is studying towards a relevant qualification at a local college, and she says the combination of study and hands-on experience has proven to be crucial for her day job. “I try to incorporate whatever I’m learning at college into my job,” she says. “If I struggle with anything I’ll ask the other electricians. It gives me a much better understanding of what it is I’m doing. In college, sometimes it’s difficult to get your head round something but to see it in practice makes much more sense.” As an electrical engineer, Letitia works with the other engineers to ensure that the machinery in the plant is in working order, identifying
potential faults and fixing any errors along the way to prevent hold-ups in the company’s production line.
HANDS-ON “I was extremely nervous at first because part of me thought that I couldn’t do it. But I’ve proved to myself more and more that I can,” she says. “Now I’m getting more handson and they let me work on my own, and do my own fault finding and testing. I have my own little projects as well.” Letitia's initial fears were completely unfounded, and now, two years into the programme, she’s really pleased she’s chosen the path she has. But what’s her favourite part of the job? “My favourite thing about
my job would probably be when we get a call out to a breakdown,” she explains. “Everybody is trying to figure out what’s gone wrong and we use the different fault-finding skills that I’ve learned. I find it so interesting, and it keeps me motivated.” It’s not just technical skills specific to the job that Letitia is learning – like most MAs, she’s picking up all sorts of transferable skills like problem solving and team work that could benefit her in any job role or industry further down the line. “I’m definitely a lot more confident about the way I approach a job and the way think about a job,” she adds. “I’m actually excited and look forward every day coming into work.”
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22/02/2016 10:22