Rina is a 23-year-old engineering apprentice at the Ministry of Defence – Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S)
The DE&S engineering degree apprenticeship allows individuals to partake in a choice of aerospace, nuclear or weapons ordnance, munitions and explosives (WOME) specialisms.
Rina said: “After school, I had decided to become a paramedic. I was two years in when I decided it wasn’t for me, so I enrolled in an access to engineering course at Westminster Kingsway College in London. I applied and got in to a few universities, but then I discovered apprenticeship opportunities.”
“The DE&S engineering degree apprenticeship was the only scheme that interested me, due to the WOME opportunities. If unsuccessful, I would go to university instead. After an online test, an assessment day and an interview, I was offered a place in the September 2018 WOME intake.”
“The first year was difficult as I had not studied full-time for a while. The apprentices that had come straight from A-levels appeared slightly more prepared, however, there was lots of support from my classmates and the apprentice team. Over the summer I have been working at DE&S full-time while also working on my NVQ level 4 qualification.”
“It is interesting to see engineering principles applied to real life situations and be able to use them myself at work. There are a lot of teams within DE&S and I will be placed amongst eight of them over the next four years. I am excited to see what is in store.”
Visit des.mod.uk/careers/graduate-jobs-apprenticeships to find out more about apprenticeships at the Ministry of Defence – DE&S
