Alumni In The Limelight: Loki

At Vandyke, we are incredibly proud of the outstanding achievements of our students. Students who leave Vandyke go on to secure places on a range of university courses including Russell Group and Oxbridge institutions. In addition, students have secured higher level degree apprenticeships with top employers such as Santander, Ernst and Young, UBS, VW, Vauxhall, BE Aerospace and many more.

Once a month, we will hear from a former student, who will share their career pathway since leaving Vandyke. Here, we meet Loki…

“I discovered aircraft maintenance when a representative of easyJet recruitment visited Vandyke to give a talk on their apprenticeship program. I already knew I wanted to pursue a career in aviation, but I had not yet decided on a specific career path. Aircraft maintenance sounded ideal to me as I always enjoyed working with my hands and being outdoors.

During the initial stage of my apprenticeship, I was based in a training school just outside of Luton airport, learning key theoretical principals of aircraft maintenance. This included aerodynamic principals, aircraft systems, aviation legislation, and sheet metal skills. While going through this theory learning, I had to sit exams in order to progress towards earning my aircraft maintenance license. During my time in Luton, I also spent a couple of months in a sheet metal workshop, fabricating various projects to develop our hand skills.

I then moved to the Cotswolds, based in a training hangar at Kemble airfield. Here we moved on to more practical skills, working on training aircraft and engines. This reinforced what we had been taught in the classroom in Luton and gave us a chance to see various aircraft and engine systems in person. Our practical training also gave us an opportunity to practise using aircraft maintenance manuals, which are what we always work in accordance with while performing maintenance.

After completing my first 14 months of training, I moved back to Luton airport to begin working night shift in the easyJet hangar on live aircraft. This was the part of the apprenticeship I had been looking forward to. In the hangar, I was carrying out scheduled maintenance on the easyJet fleet, such as component replacement and airframe and engine inspections.  Once I moved into the maintenance hangar, I began to fill out my CAP741 logbook, which is another item required to attain my aircraft maintenance license. I began learning more about aircraft systems and how to maintain them, including how to document the work I had performed on the aircraft.

After a year in the hangar, I was transferred to line maintenance, which takes place outside while the aircraft is at the gate. I now work a 4 on, 4 off shift pattern, working 2 12-hour day shifts and then 2 12-hour night shifts. My day-to-day work differs between day shift and night shift, however the general overview is that during the day I will respond to call outs during an aircraft turnround, which is where the pilots have an issue with the aircraft and need it resolved before they can go on their next flight. Sometime during the day, we will have an aircraft grounded due to a more serious fault and we will work on it in the hangar. This can involve hard landing inspections, larger component changes such as engines, and longer tasks such as cabin overhauls. Overnight, I will carry out more scheduled maintenance, such as routine inspections and engine servicing.

My advice for future candidates would be to be confident during interviews, but do not be afraid to admit if you don’t know something.  An apprenticeship is designed to take you from zero knowledge, so no hiring manager expects you to know everything during an interview. If you have to do a group interview, make sure to give ideas as well as listen to the ideas that others give, and build on suggestions from other people. This will show employers that you can work well in a group and aren’t afraid of making your voice heard.

Remember that an apprenticeship only teaches you the minimum knowledge you need to perform your job role, so make sure to learn from your co-workers and get feedback from them on how you’re doing.”