Shaan Bhutta had set his sights on an apprenticeship from first joining UTC Leeds, preferring hands on work alongside study. After successfully gaining technical qualifications in engineering alongside A Levels, he is going on to a Level 4 design engineering apprenticeship at Sulzer Pumps and is looking forward to working:
“The apprenticeship was meant to be at Level 3 but because I’m leaving UTC with Level 3 qualifications they have raised it to Level 4. I’ll be working with 30 design engineers designing small parts for pumps and getting a qualification at the same time. I’ll be studying at Appris in Bradford.”
Sulzer is a global company with production and service sites all around the world. The company has said that they want to support Shaan to take a degree apprenticeship once he has completed his Level 4 apprenticeship.
Shaan elected to come to UTC Leeds for his sixth form studies because he wanted to do engineering. He studied Double Engineering, Product Design and AS Maths and was particularly pleased to secure a Distinction Merit for his Engineering qualifications.
He enjoyed his time at the UTC and liked the professional environment, as he explained: “They do treat you like adults. We had to do the work and the deadlines were sometimes tight, but that’s good, it makes you work harder.”
He added: “The teachers at the UTC have a background in engineering and they can tell you what actually happens in industry, so you get the proper understanding of engineering.”
Shaan did work experience at a company called Planned Stainless: “They got me designing things on CAD (Computer Aided Design). I designed sinks that they make out of sheet metal, and I even got an interview at the end. It was a good experience being there.”
Now he is looking forward to starting his working life at Sulzer and pursuing a career in engineering.
