If you have a passion for engineering and hope to have a STEM career, an apprenticeship could be the best way to turn your dream into reality. Our apprenticeship programme is long-established and well respected by our industry peers, and even got a mention in the House of Commons back in the late 60s!
Much has changed in the intervening years, including the expansion of the programmes we offer. For our business to continue to grow and prosper, it’s vital that we attract and inspire the next generation of engineering talent. To that end we now offer the following opportunities to apprentices, as well as our current staff who use the Apprenticeship Scheme to study and upskill:
| Name | Level | Disciplines* |
| Advanced | 3 | Fabrication, Machining, Fitting, Electrical, Maintenance Finance, IT |
| Higher | 4 & 5 | Production Engineering, Project Management IT, HR |
| Degree & Post-Graduate | 6 & 7 | Engineering/Design, MBA, CMA, ACCA |
* These are examples of disciplines apprentices are currently working towards, or have achieved in recent years.
Supporting you
One of the main benefits of doing your apprenticeship with us is the opportunity to learn from seasoned engineers and dedicated mentors, working as part of a small, supportive, friendly team.
We have a dedicated Apprenticeship team to support you along the way. Nigel Wilkinson is our Apprenticeship Co-ordinator and a section leader on the shop floor. He works closely with Sarah Worsley, our Senior HR Officer, who liaises with all our training and education partners. Nigel is always available to you, both at his weekly check-in meetings and outside of that session.
Brian Childs is one of our mentors and is back at Baker Perkins for a second stint. He’s mentored apprentices for over 40 years and has 20 years’ experience as an engineering training instructor. A skilled machinist, Brian supports all our apprentices at the beginning of their time with us and the milling apprentices go on to spend longer with him.
He sums up his role, and what youngsters get out of an apprenticeship, perfectly by saying:
“I’ve lost count on the apprentices I have mentored and instructed, passing on my skills and giving them an enjoyable experience, which they then can turn into wisdom and use as they progress their engineering lives.
After picking up their initial machining skills through their college course, over time we refine their knowledge to become self-motivated, and support them in developing their practical skills to fit into the routine of work.
Being involved with an apprentice at a young age and watching them mature into skilled young people, who progress in their chosen profession, makes mentoring a very worthwhile job to me.”
What kind of engineer do I want to be?
If this feels like a question you don’t yet have the answer to, don’t panic!
Here at our Peterborough HQ, we do everything from design to installation under one roof. This end-to-end journey isn’t standard in all engineering companies. So whilst you’ll start your apprenticeship in a specialism (machining, fabrication, assembly or electrical), it does mean there are plenty of opportunities after your apprenticeship to expand into different areas of the business including engineering, project management or sales if you’re offered a role with us.
Our training partners
We currently work with the following partners, across these specialisms:
- Peterborough College (Manufacturing)
- College of West Anglia (as above)
- Grantham College (HNC, HND (Engineering))
- Lincoln University (Engineering)
- Cranfield University (MBA)
- Watson & Martin (HR/CIPD)
- First Intuition (Finance)
