Joe recently took part in our summer placement programme, a hands-on opportunity designed to give young people real-world manufacturing experience before they continue their studies or embark on their careers.
We caught up with Joe to hear about his experience and what he took away from the programme.
Why did you choose a placement at Advanced?
I’ve just finished my Electrical Engineering course at Newcastle College and I’ll be starting my degree in Electrical Engineering at Northumbria University later this month. Before heading off to university, I wanted to spend some time in industry to get hands-on experience and boost my CV, so I joined Advanced for a work placement.
I was keen to find a placement where I could get real experience of engineering in action. Advanced gave me the chance to explore different areas of the business and see how everything fits together, which felt like a great way to prepare for university and my future career.
What have you been doing during your placement?
During my time here, I had the chance to work across a few different production areas. Out of all of them, I found Final Assembly the most interesting and enjoyable. Once I mentioned this to the team, they kept me there for the rest of my placement. I really liked getting practical experience putting panels together, learning how the different components fit, and seeing the process come to life.
The skills I’ve picked up are simple but valuable, things like using hand tools and working carefully through the different stages of assembly. While I didn’t use machinery, I now feel much more confident about the practical side of engineering and I know these skills will be useful in the future.
What have the people been like?
One of the best parts of my time at Advanced has been the people I’ve worked with. Every team I worked with all took the time to show me what to do and explain how everything works. They’ve shared their experience and made me feel welcome from the start, which made the whole placement much more enjoyable.
Overall, my time at Advanced has been a great introduction to the industry, and it’s given me a lot of insight that I’ll take with me as I begin my degree at Northumbria.