Aerospace apprentice Scott on a flying visit to MPs at Parliament

By visiting Westminster, the apprentices were able to see at first-hand how Parliament works and the politicians took the opportunity to brief them on the wide-ranging career opportunities available in the aerospace sector, while the apprentices were able to share their personal perspectives of how their experiences at Leonardo have laid the foundations for their future careers.

The MPs showed particular interest in the apprentices’ thoughts on their work which takes them out into the local community via Leonardo’s long established STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) programme to inspire the next generation of engineers.

The company is a committed member of the 5 per cent club, in which at least 5 per cent of employees are on early career apprenticeships, graduate apprenticeship or graduate schemes.

Leonardo’s apprentices all study at college or university, working within project teams delivering some of the UK’s most advanced technology programmes in helicopters, electronics, software and cyber.

Scott Leslie, design engineering technician at the company’s Edinburgh site, was amongst those who attended the event, where he met MP for East Lothian Martin Whitfield.

Scott said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my day at Parliament discussing the likes of industry, apprenticeships and my journey thus far in Leonardo. I told Martin about my time at Leonardo and how I heard about my apprenticeship, my role in the workplace and college life.”

He added: “I feel I gained a view of how MPs view the apprenticeships and the industry, how I can make a real contribution through my apprenticeship and work and also a little bit of an insight in to what the apprentices on other sites get up to.”

Leonardo is a global high-tech company and one of the key players in aerospace, defence and security. The company employs around 7,000 highly skilled people at sites across the UK and was recently awarded the Investors in People Gold Standard.

With its Scottish base at Crewe Toll, the company generates exports worth around £1.3 billion to the UK economy every year.

Leonardo is committed to maintaining a skilled and diverse workforce and recognises the need to expand the UK’s pool of engineering resources.

It is also focused on encouraging females into technology and engineering – in schools, through university, and into working life – actively supporting initiatives to encourage greater participation amongst young people, particularly women, in STEM.

Leonardo was also first to achieve the Investors in Young People (IIYP) Gold accreditation.