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Our busy toolroom at BEC Group continues to expand as our orders grow. Our newest addition to the tooling department, Tom is an apprentice machining technician. We caught up with Tom in the toolroom to ask him a few questions about his apprenticeship so far.
Why did you decide on a machining apprenticeship?
I really wanted an apprenticeship in a hands-on trade. I was considering different types of engineering apprenticeships when my parents recommended toolmaking as an option. I looked into a few of the courses available and the Level 3 Machining Technician Course with Seta looked like just what I wanted.
How did you find your training with Seta?
I’ve just finished my initial six months of training at the Seta facility in Southampton. During the training we were given an overview of machining, including rotations in learning about milling, CNC and turning.
From now I’ll spend four days a week at BEC, learning more about toolmaking and machining and one day a week still training with Seta. My day with Seta covers more of the documentation side of things, my days at BEC are more practical and cover all the different parts of machining and toolmaking.
Which part of tooling and machining do you find the most interesting?
I like using the CNC the most, it takes a long time to be able to use it well, but you can do so much with it once you’ve learned even just the basics.
What advice would you give to someone looking to do an apprenticeship?
I’d say to make sure you know what grades you need for the apprenticeship that you want, then you can work towards them. If you’re interested in a particular course or job, then see if you can go and visit a workplace for it first- then you can get a better feel of if it might be for you.
For more information on 1. Behind the Scenes in BEC Toolroom: Apprenticeship talk to BEC Group