Latest Siemens apprentice favours heavy engineering

Latest Siemens apprentice, 17-year-old Rob Haley, knows exactly what he wants to do when he graduates: work in heavy industry.

Recruited last September as part of Siemens’ ongoing commitment to training tomorrow’s engineers, Rob has certainly been influenced by the engineering culture he has been exposed to at Siemens’ Leeds factory, which assembles, maintains and repairs mechanical drive units for many of the UK’s biggest and most successful industries.

Rob is back at the Siemens Leeds factory now, having completed 36 weeks training at Bradford College, where both theory and practical training is carried out. Rob is currently studying for his ONC in mechanical engineering and manufacturing (two year-course), and will then study for a further two years to gain his HNC in the same subject. On completion of his 36-week period at the college he will return to the Siemens factory, getting valuable supervised first-hand experience of engineering at work. He will then attend the college on a day-release basis.

Rob is in good company; Siemens Mechanical Drives currently has four apprentices learning their trade, and all agree that the most varied work is to be found on the heavy industry side, where they can be working on anything from a huge wind turbine unit to a food industry gearbox or a coupling for an aggregates application.

Rob commented on his role: “I have really enjoyed my first year’s apprenticeship at Siemens. The work is varied and challenging and it gives me valuable engineering experience alongside my college course.”

As the course progresses, Rob will spend more time at the Siemens factory, working on live projects. He is due to graduate in three years’ time, continuing a tradition at Siemens of training tomorrow’s finest engineers.

More information on Siemens apprenticeships at Leeds is available from anna.grimshaw@siemens.com

ENDS

PHOTO-CAPTION: Rob Haley at work servicing a gear unit at Siemens Mechanical Drives in Leeds

About Siemens Industry Automation & Drive Technologies
Siemens Industry Automation & Drive Technologies employs 2000 people in the UK, working with customers in a wide range of industries from automotive and chemical to aerospace, food and construction. Products supplied by Industry Automation & Drive Technologies include standard products for the manufacturing and process industries and for the electrical installation industry, as well as system solutions and total solutions for industries such as the automation of entire automobile plants. Siemens was established in the United Kingdom over 160 years ago and employs around 20,000 people in the UK (over 475,000 worldwide), including about 5,000 in the UK manufacturing sector. Last year’s UK revenues were £3.5 billion (just over Euros 87bn worldwide), including £580 million in exports. Siemens provides innovative, high-quality services and solutions to customers in a diverse range of industry sectors, including power, automation and control, information and communication, medical, transportation, lighting, and household. Siemens has offices and factories throughout the UK.

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