2 years after I graduated University, I was working in a development engineer role with a sensors company, when I saw the advert for Raytheon UK’s Graduate Development Programme (GDP) Role in Manufacturing, so I submitted my CV as I really like the idea of a structured training programme within a engineering company that was well established and worked with cutting edge technology.
I received a phone call a short time after inviting me to an assessment centre. It was the first assessment centre I had been to so I was quite nervous but it was very well organised and allowed me to meet multiple people from the manufacturing department and give me a good insight into what the GDP could offer. Thankfully, the assessment centre went well and I was offered the role. This was back in 2012 and I am now approaching my 11 year anniversary with the company.
My experience has been positive, varied and for the most part enjoyable. Throughout the graduate development programme I really enjoyed the off-site modules where the full cohort would meet up and take part in activities and exercises to work on our personal awareness, leadership skills and be introduced to other parts of the company.
We developed close relationships with peers from all different functions and sites around the business. On top of the interpersonal and leadership skills training that the graduate development programme delivered, I also received great coaching and mentoring from senior engineers as I learned the fundamentals of manufacturing engineering, whilst supporting live products and production lines.
The opportunities I was presented with during this period accelerated my learning and before I completed the GDP I was the Manufacturing lead for a range of circuit cards that we built in the Glenrothes site.
Whilst working as a manufacturing engineer, I heard from colleagues about STEM Ambassador training that was taking place at the Harlow site and I asked if there would be a similar opportunity in Glenrothes? The answer was that there wasn’t anything planned for Glenrothes but how would I like to become the STEM Lead for the Glenrothes site.
This was a really exciting opportunity and one that I took on, on-top-of my manufacturing engineering role. The objective of the STEM Lead role was to form a team of STEM ambassadors from our Glenrothes employees and begin working with the community to grow the talent pipeline and encourage young people to pursue careers in STEM subjects.
I remained the STEM Lead for Glenrothes for 6 years which enabled me to travel to many events across the UK, meet lots of interesting people from MPs to RAF leaders and have lots of fun building aspirations with local young people.
It was a really rewarding role and provided lots of professional development opportunities as I lead a team of 80+ ambassadors, managed projects and budgets and coordinated large off-site events.
The work I was doing in my STEM role and my performance in my manufacturing roles gave me the confidence and encouragement to apply for my existing role which I took on in 2019. My current role is Training and Development Lead for Manufacturing.
Within this role I am responsible for our internal training school that train and certify our manufacturing staff in the regulations they require. I am also responsible for identifying, arranging and delivering the training our manufacturing staff require in terms of meeting our current requirements and for future requirements.
A big part of my role is also to manage the recruitment, onboarding and development of our early careers employees. This requires me to ensure we are hiring the best people for our graduate and apprentice roles from internal applicants or from our existing staff.
By offering upskilling opportunities it provides a progression pathway for employees to grow and develop their careers and we have training courses in place to support anyone who wants to commit to this type of journey.
The learning, (classroom and experiential) that I got from the GDP that I can still refer back to now. The networking, both in terms of my fellow 2012 graduates but also through exposure to leadership and colleagues from all areas of the business
The opportunities, I’ve been lucky that I’ve had lots of exciting opportunities throughout my career and I have never regretted going ahead with any of them, so the advice that is commonly shared with early careers employees definitely stands true- “grasp every opportunity you can”
The rewards, other than the obvious salary benefits, my experience with Raytheon UK has been hugely rewarding from seeing the circuit cards I was responsible for being built correctly and meeting the customer’s challenging deadlines, to travelling to Cardiff for RAF100 with the STEM team. I have also seen others develop and grow their careers and helped young people in the community build their aspirations that will hopefully change their career path for the better.
In the application process, I would advise future applicants to prepare as much as you can. Practicing competency questions and giving serious consideration to why you would like to work for Raytheon and be part of the Graduate Development Programme, are all good ways to make a good impression.
For successful candidates, I would say make the most of every opportunity, ask lots of questions, meet as many people as you can and by growing your knowledge and network together you will give yourself the best chance of being successful in the role.
