What is your current role?

Automotive engineer at Aston Martin. I look after the body panels on Aston Martins, and make sure they’re top quality.

What inspired you to become an automotive engineer?

Nobody else in my family was interested in cars, so they didn’t understand why I liked them so much. For me, it was just a hobby, and I didn’t think it could become a job, so I focused on drama, art and music at school. Then I met someone from Aston Martin at a careers fair, and they invited me in for work experience. I loved it straight away. I spoke to graduates and apprentices in the business and that helped me decide what I wanted to do.

Apprenticeship at Aston Martin

At the age of 16, I joined the apprentice scheme at Aston Martin and got to work in every area of production. I finished my apprenticeship with a BTEC Level Three in Manufacturing Engineering and an NVQ Level 3 in Engineering. One of the things I really liked about the engineering apprenticeship was the amount of responsibility I was given, which gave me opportunities to hold meetings with directors, take on new challenges such as leading large teams, and sometimes even drive the cars.