Stuart Gain completes first Link Microtek apprenticeship

From its premises in the heart of Basingstoke, Link Microtek designs and fabricates a wide variety of microwave and RF products for use in military and commercial communications applications. Manufacturing these products requires traditional workshop skills such as toolmaking and machining, but there is a dearth of such expertise in the UK. Faced with that situation, Link set up an apprenticeship scheme to encourage younger people into engineering.

During his 2-year apprenticeship, Stuart has learned a range of practical mechanical-engineering skills to reinforce the theoretical grounding he gained while studying for his National Diploma in Manufacturing Engineering at Basingstoke College of Technology (BCOT).

A lot of young people think that university is the only way to go, Stuart said, but for me the apprenticeship has been a very positive experience. It has provided a great opportunity to train with highly experienced precision engineers and to learn some of the tips and secrets that they have picked up during their careers.

According to managing director Steve Cranstone, Stuart's training will not stop there: Stuart is already making a valuable contribution to the workshop team, but we want to ensure that he continues to develop his skills in a variety of areas. So we have drawn up an ongoing programme of in-house and external training to cover topics such as CAD software, RF design and testing, and health and safety in the workplace.

Link Microtek has been so pleased with Stuart's success that the company is now in discussion with BCOT regarding the possibility of taking on another apprentice in the near future.