James' Story
James Baker
Multi-Skilled Engineering Apprenticeship
City & Guilds Food and Drink Maintenance Engineering
James Watt College, BMET, Birmingham
I am responsible for ensuring the constant production of our factory is not halted by machinery and to constantly seek improvements.
I went to university for a year and a half and decided that it was not the right path for me to learn and further my qualifications, after leaving university I saw the advertisement for the apprenticeship in the newspaper and then applied to it online and submitted my CV in person.
Find a little project to work yourself on at home to do with something you enjoy. A little program on your computer to make a task easier, a physical object to ease a job you do every day, a job to help your parents or a family member with a problem they are having. Something like this on your CV or in your interview is a brilliant showcase of a logical and technical mind.
That every day is different. This may be something you hear a lot but that is a real love of my job, you never know what a problem or a new challenge could be that you will face day in day out. My dedication and hard work earned me the Gold Medal in the Industry 4.0 category at the WorldSkills UK National Finals. Industry 4.0 is shaping the future of manufacturing, and this competition highlights the skills that will power modern factories, from automation and digital production systems to data-led performance and smart technology integration. “The award made me feel really proud. I’ve learnt so much through my apprenticeship, and it’s great to know that the work I’m doing is recognised,” said James. Apprenticeships open doors to confidence, skills, and long‑term careers—and this award is a brilliant example of what’s possible.
I would have jumped straight into the apprenticeship scheme before going to university, the structure of learning and working side by side suits me much better. The routine with it all allows me to balance my college work, my job, and my social life so much better and with more freedom than I could have imagined.
Since I started in July 2021, I have had a pay rise and I am scheduled for a pay rise every year until I finish my qualification where I will be on the full engineer’s salary.
I see myself specialising in a field of this industry that I am interested in, this may be a number of things as I am yet to experience half of the fields that are available to me.