After my A-levels in Electronics, Engineering, IT and English Literature, I decided I didn’t want to go to university, so I began to look for other options. I saw this advert for an apprenticeship at Cosworth – which my family all love – and I applied.  

I did a three-year apprenticeship, which I started when I was 18. I gained three qualifications during the apprenticeship, including an NVQ Level 2 in Turning, Machining and Hand Tools, and an NVQ Level 3 in Testing and Overhauling Engines on a dynamometer (a device that is used to measure torque and the rotational speed of a machine).

I wanted to go into an apprenticeship because I wanted a break from classroom education, and I knew that my skills suited a more hands-on role. I wanted to go out and earn money and be more self-sufficient, rather than having another three years or so before I could start working.

As I have completed my apprenticeship and I am moving up the ladder, I float between quite a few projects. In the morning we get the engines ready to run and when they’re up to temperature, they are checked for leaks. Once we are 100% confident in their working condition, we will fire the engines and do all sorts of tests, like power curves (the range speeds in which it operates effectively).

We control the engines with something called a dynamometer (dyno) which is a big piece of machinery that will hold an engine anywhere you put it. We open the engines to see what horsepower we can get. I control the engine with my hands and will play with the speed and the resistance the dyno is giving.  
We also have durability testing – that could be thirty hours of going round a track to test the engine to make sure it can achieve the level of power for a certain period.

I have travelled quite a bit with Cosworth – I spent the whole of last year on the East Coast of England testing a speedboat engine that we were developing. I have also worked on a customer site developing a new outboard motor for them. I like to travel with Cosworth when I can.