If you had told me two years ago that I’d be doing an apprenticeship instead of going to university, I would have laughed. I never imagined myself doing an apprenticeship. For most of my school life, university was the only option I considered. It was what teachers encouraged, what friends expected, and what I believed was the key to success. When I told my friends I was going to do an apprenticeship, some of them said, ‘You are too smart for that!’. I was always told university is the way and that’s how you would build a successful career. I had never heard the word ‘apprenticeship’ until the summer before Y13. Fast forward to today, I am a 1^st year manufacturing engineering degree apprentice at Mira Showers, building real world engineering skills and experience whilst studying for an accredited degree.

I always knew I wanted to go into the engineering industry in some capacity. I was always fascinated by the precision and accuracy that such a field requires. When I was in Y11, I was an avid F1 fan (still am), loved working on projects at school and always wanted to be hands on. I did well in my maths and science GCSEs so choosing them for A-Levels felt natural. I took part in the STEM society and seeing the Y7s and Y8s in awe of the aerodynamics of paper planes made me set my sights on going to university to study aerospace engineering. Additionally, I took part in STEM Racing (formerly F1 in Schools) as the Head of Enterprise for our team, raising sponsorship from local companies and managing our sustainability program. Our success led us to two successive National Finals finishing in the top 10 out of 60 teams on both occasions. That experience only reinforced my dream of going into the motorsport industry.

The work experience that changed everything

My sixth form was quite vocal about all options post 18: apprenticeships, university, gap year, employment. I never listened; I knew I was going to get into university no matter what. I had my whole next 5 years planned out: go to Imperial College London or University of Bath to study aerospace engineering and get a job in Formula 1. However, life always takes you on a detour and one work experience changed my whole perception. I had the opportunity to go to MOOG Aircraft Group for one week of work experience and I loved it. MOOG is an aerospace company that manufactures parts for aircrafts and F1 cars. From using CAD software Siemens NX for modelling and Ansys for CFD analysis, to going to the machine shop and seeing all the machines in action, I knew this is what I wanted to do.

My mentor for the week, Dean, told me that I should look into apprenticeships because they allow you to learn and earn at the same time and it would be especially beneficial in a field such as engineering. I took his advice at face value and didn’t really bother much until I sent my university applications off. During this time, my focus started to shift from aerospace to mechanical and manufacturing.

Rejection, Doubt and The Email I Nearly Ignored

After I sent my UCAS application in October, I started looking and applying to degree apprenticeships in the aerospace, mechanical and manufacturing fields and the more applications I sent off, the more I realised that I wanted to do an apprenticeship. Nothing prepared me for the reality of it all. Interview after interview, countless assessment centres, and multiple rejections later, I was hopeless after 40 applications and I gave up. The most annoying thing was going multiple assessment centres and receiving all positive feedback and no negatives yet still falling short. When I asked for any constructive feedback after, they couldn’t give any.

It gave me the validation that apprenticeships weren’t for me and that university was the only way until one day in January, I received an email from our school careers advisor about a degree apprenticeship opportunity with Mira Showers. I immediately told my mum I wasn’t applying because I was fed up with the rejections, but she willingly encouraged me, and I reluctantly did so. I said to myself, ‘One more application and then no more’. I sent my application and went through the whole process and receiving the phone call that I had been waiting for the past 5 months was the best feeling ever.

One small problem though.

A Scholarship vs an Apprenticeship?

Finally, when things started to fall into place, more opportunities popped out by surprise. After taking part in the STEM Racing National Finals in March, I received a phone call from Aston University stating that I had been offered a scholarship to study mechanical engineering that the winners of the competition turned down and was offered to me instead due to our success. I was confused, overjoyed and nervous. What was I going to do? Choose university, the path I had always planned, or an apprenticeship, the path that suddenly felt right?

After receiving so much support and advice, I eventually chose the apprenticeship, and it has been the best decision of my life. Being able to work with industry professionals, leading projects and meetings, working at a company with such a great culture, inspiring other students at career fairs and events has been nothing short of amazing!

My Advice for the Next Generation

Whether you are doing your GCSEs or A-Levels you need to:

1. Say yes to every opportunity – You never know where life will take you and the worst case is you don’t like the experience at the end. I never knew I was going to be a degree apprentice or apply to 41 apprenticeships before I got the yes that I was looking for.
2. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do – Yes, take advice and support, but you have the final say of what you want for your future, take control of it!
3. Do your research and get involved – Look for opportunities and take the initiative to help yourself stand out in the crowd. At the end of the day, everyone applying will have the same grades but what makes you stand out above the rest?

Having the opportunity to mentor students through Aspiring Professionals in STEM (APSTEM) and help them with their applications brings me joy knowing that they can see through the stereotype and go for apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships are now receiving more attention than ever and is becoming a main option for a lot of young people in this current age who have seen that more companies are looking for experience, not qualifications and doing an apprenticeship opens that opportunity for such experience at a young age.

Manufacturing Engineering was never on my bingo card. It focuses on the design, development and operation of systems to obtain products. Without it, we wouldn’t have a lot of things we have today. Lots of things around us have been manufactured. It directly impacts the advancement of technology and the spread of innovation across our world and knowing I play a small part in that process is incredibly rewarding.

Whoever is reading this, I hope that you take a leap of faith and say yes to different opportunities because you never know what is waiting on the other side. If I never said yes, I would have never had the work experience opportunity that changed the course of my life. Apprenticeships aren’t for everyone and that’s okay, everyone has their own path to success. Only you can shape your future, so start now!

Joshua Owusu

Manufacturing Engineering Degree Apprentice at Kohler Mira Ltd. | Springpod 50 Under 20 Future Maker

You can find out more and connect with Joshua on LinkedIn.