My apprenticeship gave me certain life skills

Highlighting that a former apprentice can be found at every level of an organisation is Lincoln College’s Vice Principal Gordon Gillespie, whose apprenticeship experience saw him develop a wealth of valuable skills.

With an interest in engines and cars, Gordon opted to undertake an Apprenticeship in Merseyside Airways Engineering. Here he would complete his six year indentured apprenticeship, earning a wage, whilst setting his dream of becoming a race car driver in motion!

“My reason for becoming an Apprentice Mechanical Engineer was two fold. Firstly, it was out of financial necessity to help the family - training whilst earning a wage provided the ideal solution. Secondly, I wanted to become a race car driver and figured I needed to know about engineering to make it. My career took a different course, but I did race class A sports cars for a while.”

“After my Apprenticeship I became a foreman, before moving onto becoming a loss-adjuster the Commercial Underwriter for Royal Insurance. I then moved into the education sector and became a lecturer in Engineering.”

“Along with trade skills and knowledge about materials and properties, engineering and my apprenticeship gave me certain life skills: a desire to understand how things work, solving problems, innovations, experimentation and design, an eye for detail, being multi skilled which have all been valuable throughout my career.”

Interested in becoming a Mechanical Engineering Apprentice? Contact Lincoln College on 01522 876000 ext 6582 enquiries@lincolncollege.ac.uk.