meet Owen & Matthew - our newly qualified engineer duo on the road to career success
Owen Baxter and Matthew Glass are both destined for a bright future as the first to complete our new three-year engineering apprenticeship programme.
Our duo are celebrating success in their quest for a top engineering qualification, and are now on course to enjoy above average annual earnings of around £40,000 plus overtime as a fully-fledged engineer.
As we transition to zero-emission electric buses, demand for time-served engineers is at an all-time high – so now is the ideal time to qualify.
Owen and Matthew beat over 50 applicants in August 2021 for the chance to join our teams in Harrogate and Blackburn as Mechelec Engineering Apprentices. Three years on, they’re now fully skilled engineers with an industry-recognised Level 3 qualification.
Owen, 22, says: “Gaining the ability to look at something that doesn’t work, find the cause, and then fix it, is what attracted me to this. The feeling of achievement when you return a bus to the road takes some beating,
“I learn something new every day from my colleagues and through experience. I was proud to be Apprentice of the Year in 2022’s Harrogate Advertiser Excellence in Business Awards - that plus the support of my colleagues, family and friends helped me make it.”
24 year old Matthew Glass grew up in an engineering family – his dad was a car mechanic – and switched from a college course in accountancy to make his engineering career dreams come true.
Matthew says: “The best part of the three-year apprenticeship has been seeing the improvement in my ability to trace a fault and repair it. The first time I looked under a bus, it just looked like a big lump of metal, but over the three years I’ve gained a lot of confidence in my ability to do most jobs in the workshop.
“I’m looking forward to increasing my experience of electric buses, and maybe a longer-term step up into managing things. This qualification can open so many doors.”
Owen and Matthew now both hold the industry-recognised Bus and Coach Engineering Technician Standard qualification, and will now continue with a blend of in-house training and specialist manufacturer technical courses to develop their workshop skills further.
We’re always keen to hear from would-be engineers ready to make their mark with us. Take a look at our current vacancies for a career with us.
