Dean Sowerby, Apprentice, QinetiQ Apprentice Training School at MOD Boscombe Down

During July, after leaving my placement at Air Worthiness, I have been at the Ground Support department (GSE) at MOD Boscombe Down. It’s been great here; I have been helping service the various pieces of equipment from around the base, ranging from the Houchins (diesel generators) to the RHAGs (rotary hydraulic arrester gears) on the runway. It has been a fantastic experience getting outside on the airfield, particularly in some of the lovely weather we have been having recently.

Yet again I have learnt a massive amount about a different side to the business that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about.  Not only has it given us a great opportunity to learn, but we have also met new people; I’m constantly aware of how friendly the people here are, how they go out of their way to help us clearly understand things, and how they make us feel welcome in their very small, tight-knit teams.

After the two week summer leave – we are all off from 9 August – I don’t know where onsite I’ll be going next or what my next placement might hold, so I’m looking forward to that, but hopefully I’ll have a good two weeks off in the meantime. I’m off to spend one of the weeks in Austria, visiting a friend.

Find out more about the wide range of apprenticeships at QinetiQ.

The award-winning training site at MOD Boscombe Down has been successfully training aircraft technicians for the over 40 years, but QinetiQ also offers apprenticeships in business administration, management, project management, information systems, sales, software engineering and facilities management. With over 35 locations across the UK, the opportunities are impressive.