Technicians graduate from Imperial's apprenticeships scheme

Last week saw Imperial celebrate the latest graduates from the Technician Apprenticeship Scheme.

Established in 2011, the Scheme is a four year programme, combining studies with on-the-job training across a range of Imperial’s workshops and labs. It is designed to train the future technicians who go on to work in Imperial’s world-class facilities, supporting research and teaching.

Staff gathered last Thursday to mark the graduation of three apprentices from the scheme – Stef Karapanagiotidis, Joel Thomas and Hayden Spektor.

Stef Karapanagiotidis has joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as Electronics/Mechanical Laboratory Technician, assisting with the delivery of electronic and mechanical services associated with the testing of specialist apparatus and rigs for research and teaching.

Reflecting on his experience, Stef said: “One of the really good things about the scheme was doing placements with several different departments. You learn a wide range of skills, as every department is so different – from micro engineering to aeronautical engineering.

“One of my favourite placements was in Physics – the workshop there takes jobs from other parts of the College, including from the Faculty of Medicine. I worked on a project designing and testing a device to be used in research into cancer.”

Two of the graduating technicians have now left the College for jobs in industry. Hayden Spektor works at the National Grid, where he is training to become a Project Engineer. This role will involve supervising a team of technicians, planning their work, writing safety documents and managing high-voltage projects.

Joel Thomas returned to the College for the event, having completed the scheme in September 2016. He now works at BAE Systems Combat Air as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician, responsible for performing heavy rectification and operational testing to ensure the continuing airworthiness of the Royal Air Force’s cutting-edge fast jet, the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Joel said: “We were based at Kingston College full time for the first year, and I remember the first time we came in to visit the departments at Imperial where we’d be based. We walked into all these state-of-the-art labs and I barely knew what anything was – it seemed crazy then to think that in three years’ time I’d understand it all and it would just be normal.

“Learning how to work independently and think critically during the apprenticeship has helped me in my current role at BAE. I’m often presented with a problem and I have to see that through from start to finish.”

New pathways

Imperial’s Provost, Professor James Stirling, presented the certificates at the event. He said: “We could not be world leading in research and education without our dedicated and skilled technicians. Earlier this year we were incredibly proud to be a founding signatory of the Science Council’s Technician Commitment, and we are currently examining the career development opportunities and support mechanisms we have in place for our technician community, and are committed to doing all we can for this incredibly important part of our community.”

Professor Stirling talks with the graduating apprentices

Building on the success of the existing Mechanical Engineering option, a new Electronics and Mechatronics pathway has been introduced for the 2017 intake. This will support the work of Imperial’s Electronic Engineering Technicians, and offer a new specialisation for prospective apprentices.

Find out more about Imperial’s apprenticeship schemes and how to apply