{"id":1105,"date":"2021-04-26T09:09:52","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T09:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/?p=1105"},"modified":"2021-05-04T08:26:28","modified_gmt":"2021-05-04T08:26:28","slug":"chris-bird-mechanical-engineering-apprentice-technician-human-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2021\/04\/26\/chris-bird-mechanical-engineering-apprentice-technician-human-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Bird, Mechanical Engineering Apprentice Technician, Human Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h3>\n

\u201cI liked the idea of learning on the job while earning a wage and working towards qualifications.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I am a mechanical engineering technician apprentice currently working in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering<\/a>. I work in each department on a six-month rotation, which allows me to work on different projects and learn from different people.<\/span><\/p>\n

I really enjoy using different types of tools and machinery as they allow me to create parts from metal bar\/round stock into something useable. One of the tools I use is a micrometer \u2013 this is a precise measuring instrument that ensures that a component is produced to the required size.<\/span><\/p>\n

I work with students and staff to produce the components they need to complete their projects and experiments and attend college on a day release to complete a Higher National Diploma in general engineering.<\/span><\/p>\n

In school, I went straight from GCSEs into sixth form so that I could keep my options open. After my AS levels, I decided I wanted to pursue a career in engineering. I started a Level 3 extended diploma in mechanical engineering which gave me my first taste of machining and opened me up to a career I hadn\u2019t thought about. <\/span><\/p>\n

I decided to look for an apprenticeship as I enjoyed working with my hands, and liked the idea of learning on the job while earning a wage and working towards qualifications. I found out about the Imperial scheme because someone on my course had just completed a technician apprenticeship at another university.<\/span><\/p>\n

COVID-19 put my job on hold as you can\u2019t operate machinery remotely. My college lessons moved online, which was a bit of a challenge at first, but we got there in the end! Having returned to campus, I\u2019ve found it very different as it\u2019s so much quieter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside work, I enjoy working on cars, going on the odd bike ride, and camping. In August last year, I visited the Lake District and stayed on a campsite in a valley, which was a stunning view to wake up to each morning.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI liked the idea of learning on the job while earning a wage and working towards qualifications.\u201d I am a mechanical engineering technician apprentice currently working in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. I work in each department on a six-month rotation, which allows me to work on different projects and learn from different […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1554,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[288073],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-support-staff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1554"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1105"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1119,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105\/revisions\/1119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}