Published 11 February 2021

Not only is Amy Knight an apprentice at DE&S, but she also mentors students as they contemplate what to do after leaving school.

For Amy, the apprenticeship route was preferable to going to university after leaving Wellsway sixth form in Keynsham and she hasn’t looked back.

The 19-year-old is now cutting her teeth in project management on the Project Professional scheme.

Her first placement was on the Type 31 frigate programme and she has recently begun a secondment with the Submarine Development Agency, albeit working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think I’ve really enjoyed being in a cohort full of the same people going through the same thing,” she said.

“The scheme has been really good, and we’ve had network sessions, so we all get together once a month just to hear each other’s voices.

“I think my proudest moment is that I’ve just become a mentor to a Year 13 student, which I was able to do through the apprenticeship. I look forward to those sessions and making a bit of a difference.”

As well as the chance to work on some of the UK’s biggest defence projects and see the kit and vehicles which will be used by the armed forces up close, Amy sees plenty of other benefits of being part of DE&S.

She said: “I think the main benefit of being an apprentice here is probably the fact you get the qualification, but you also get that on-the-job training.

“So, you get that exposure to what you will be doing once you finish. You don’t get the qualification and then get put into a situation where you’ve got to learn again, you’ve learned what you have to do as you’ve gone.

And there are other benefits too.

“Flexi working is really, really good,” Amy added. “My hours tend to be seven ‘till three, which suits me really well. The pension scheme is really, really good and you feel like you’re looked after and cared for, definitely.”