National Apprenticeship Week: Developing Technical Skills For Industry with Tom Bennett
9th February 2026
Tom Bennett is studying the HNC Engineering for England (HTQ) at the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Institute of Technology as part of his Higher Level Engineering apprenticeship at GE Vernova in Stafford.
Working as a design engineer apprentice, Tom is combining valuable hands-on training in the workplace with his studies at the Institute of Technology. Here, Tom chats about the experiences he's been involved in so far and the in-demand skills he's developing as part of his apprenticeship.
"I previously studied the BTEC Level 3 Advanced Manufacturing Engineering course at Stafford College, so this seemed like a good progression route to help me to continue my learning. I was part of the GE Next Engineers Program which gave me the connections and experience working with engineers from GE Vernova. I really liked their set up and the work they were involved in, so I decided to apply for a Level 4 apprenticeship with them.
Family members have been a big influence in my life, so it was a natural step for me to pursue a career in engineering. Both my Dad and Grandad have worked in engineering their whole lives so I already had the foundations to work on. My Dad started as an apprentice in Stafford and has told me so many stories about this job growing up which was really interesting. Also hearing my Grandad reminiscing about the various projects and scenarios he worked on in his career as an engineer always interested me so I’m now a 3rd generation electrical engineer.
The thought of not having any university debt was really appealing to me and a really important factor. I definitely learn better through doing practical and applied tasks and the apprenticeship option gives me the opportunity to do a full-time practical job and then learn the theory side of things at the Institute of Technology. From my future career point of view, I feel that employers value engineering experience so it was the best option for me."
Having the opportunity to get involved in major projects has given Tom the confidence to show off his skills.
Tom added: "I have recently been assigned to the SKYE project with GEV. This is the biggest air insulated substation project GEV has which connects the top part of Scotland with an improved electrical grid to supply power to the Isle of Skye. I have also worked on a mobile substation going to Ukraine to assist in the reconstruction and support operation as a lot of their power supply has been disrupted. Another interesting project is the TST expansion in Stafford where I have created many of the electrical drawings for the site.
A lot of my learning at the IoT has helped me to develop a greater understanding of other functions within the business and how I can apply these fundamental aspects of engineering to my role as a design engineer.
I enjoy the practical element of the course more as I learn this way and I get to learn all about the development process of projects through speaking to senior engineers. Through applying theory to real life, I get the chance to understand them a lot better. I also enjoy doing the electrical drawings as they make more sense to me compared to the calculation side of things. I like developing the quality of my work by self-assessing the drawings and being involved in checking the work of younger apprentices. This is giving me valuable mentoring skills.
My employers are very supportive and my managers always have time for me to ask questions. They provide me with challenging work that allows me to gain a range of different tasks. I get given a lot of training on specific topics which really expands my knowledge. I am also part of the engineering club which is a bi-weekly meeting with other apprentices which is where we get to share our knowledge by presenting to each other.
On completion of my apprenticeship and HNC, I want to move onto my HND to further my engineering knowledge and then gain a variety of experiences from within the business."