Gloucestershire Conference

I am the Early Careers Manager for Lotus Cars, leading recruitment initiatives since January. With over 20 years of experience in the skills landscape, I have a deep understanding of how to cultivate and support young talent. Prior to joining Lotus, I was Early Careers Lead for the UK’s largest housebuilder, guiding countless young professionals with their career journeys. I am passionate about helping the next generation find meaningful pathways into work, and they work closely with educators, employers, and industry leaders to ensure opportunities are accessible and rewarding.

I caught the bug for aviation when I was 13 from my firstglider flight. 678 flights later, I’m now a gliding instructor, student pilotand an aspiring aviation engineer. Having started my career at Swift in 2022,I’ve been involved in many different aspects of aviation engineering frommechanical assemblies, electrical assemblies and composite manufacture. Outsideof work, if I'm not flying, you'll probably find me in a hangar working ongliders!

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Having started my working life stacking shelves in asupermarket and on building sites, I managed to get a job in the civil serviceas an Assistant Scientific Officer.  After 18 years of designing, buildingand operating wind tunnels and other test equipment I reached the equivalent ofa Senior Scientific Officer.  The next 11 years was spent in the O&G /petrochemical industry dealing with Heat Transfer & Fluid Dynamics. In 2008 I joined the Swift Technology Group working in the Aviation, RenewableEnergies and R&D sectors.  I’m a STEM Ambassador and my interests aretravel, photography and aviation.

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A graduate Manufacturing Engineer who has just completed hisfirst year at Lotus Cars. He studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport atthe University of Hertfordshire, going on to work as a Composite Technicianbefore gaining his place at Lotus in the summer of 2023.

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Baxter touches the lives of millions of people around theworld every day. Our products and therapies can be found throughout hospitalsand clinics – from the Emergency Department to the Operating Theatre, from thePharmacy to the Intensive Care Unit – as well as advancing patients’ care intheir homes. Baxter is a truly global company and has 13 sites across the UK.

I am currently responsible for 2 aseptic manufacturing unitswith a team of over 120 people including Business Leaders, Supervisors,Technicians, a project team & a CI team.

My background is in manufacturing, primarily in the pharmaceutical Industry, having worked at both Pfizer and Abbot before joiningBaxter in 2021. I have a passion not just for pharmaceutical manufacturing but also for inspiring my teams to grow and develop, to become fabulous versions of themselves and exceed in their careers, beyond even their own expectations!

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With over 24 years’ experience, Nandini focuses on accelerating the adoption of innovative digital technologies within UK industry and supply chains. With her expertise spanning a diverse range of technologies such as AI, systems engineering, industrial connectivity and data sciences, Nandini’s work helps organisations use emerging technology to maximise their impact, improve efficiency and boost productivity. In the past Nandini has worked with organisations like Samsung, Motorola and Tata.

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Josh is a digital and technologies solutions apprentice (DaTS) at Babcock International Group.

As part of his current role he is supporting the AI development team at Babcock led by Peter Passaro, which researches and applies AI solutions for both internal and external stakeholders.

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Peter is a multi-skilled technical leader, scientist, engineer, and product visionary with a wealth of experience developing bleeding edge technologies for production across startups, large corporates, and academia.

He understands how to do beautiful things with AI, NLP, time series analysis, intuitive UI/data visualisation, and lots of data. He passionately believes in the power of the right insights and technologies to create a better world, and enjoys bringing clarity of understanding to complex and messy systems. He has built multiple teams and products to overcome business, scientific, civic and social challenges, including a trust and safety AI product that was acquired by Amazon.

In addition to his primary role in AI product development at Babcock International, he is working to develop the startup ecosystem for AI for underserved industries in the UK and Europe more broadly.

Stella Scott completed her studies at The JCB Academy in 2022, completing her A-levels in engineering, business and level 3 maths. Following this Stella, joined JCB fulltime in September 2022 as a Level 6 Business Degree Apprentice.

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Currently, Stella is in her 3rd year of this apprenticeship scheme, and is completing her degree in Business Management and Leadership at Derby University.
Since joining the business, Stella has worked across various departments including Global Major Accounts, Commercial Operations, Legal and Marketing. At present Stella is based at JCB’s engine facility, JCB Power Systems, working in a executative support role alongside our Group Head of Powertrain.

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In the future, Stella hopes to pursue a career in project management.

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I started my career at KMF in 2017, after leaving school,joining the company as a Sheet Metal Apprentice.  I spent time in every department, gaining asmuch knowledge as possible about every process and gaining new skills, whilstgaining my level 2 and 3 qualifications. Throughout the apprenticeship, I wasgiven lots of opportunities to grow as an individual by taking part in Skillscompetitions, as well as challenges within the community.

After completing my apprenticeship, I moved into anoffice-based role as a Planning Engineer. This role required a strongunderstanding of every aspect of the business and would test my engineeringknowledge that I had been developing over the years as an apprentice.

I decided after my first year in this role that I wanted toprogress further and started a Level 4 Engineering Manufacturing TechnicianApprenticeship, gaining a HNC whilst also in my full-time role. I hope to moveonto a full degree course after completing this, which will develop myknowledge further, preparing me for a more senior role within the business.

Harry Mellor is the European Product Director at LiuGong Machinery, where he leads product development, innovation, and market strategy across Europe. With over a decade of experience in the construction and heavy machinery industry, Harry is a seasoned professional known for his strategic insights and technical expertise.

At the beginning of his career, Harry gained valuable experience at the JCB Academy, a specialised educational institution focused on engineering, manufacturing, and business. During his time at the JCB Academy, Harry honed his foundational skills in engineering and product development, gaining both practical and theoretical knowledge that would shape his future career. Harry’s education at the JCB Academy instilled in him a strong work ethic and a passion for innovation, which he carried forward into his subsequent roles in the industry. His technical training at the Academy not only gave him a solid engineering foundation but also helped him develop a mindset for solving complex problems & “Can Do” attitude , a trait that has been instrumental in his success in driving product development and market expansion at LiuGong.

Before joining LiuGong, Harry held various pivotal roles in product management and engineering at another leading company in the heavy equipment sector. He began his career as a mechanical engineering higher apprentice, where he honed his technical skills in machinery design and development. Over time, he transitioned into product management & business development roles, where his keen understanding of both the technical and commercial aspects of the business allowed him to excel in product strategy, market analysis, and portfolio management.

Additionally, Harry has extensive experience in working with cross-cultural teams and leading product development initiatives in international markets. His deep understanding of the European market, combined with his global perspective, has made him a vital asset in adapting products for regional needs while maintaining global consistency. His ability to balance customer needs with business goals resulted in increased market share and enhanced product performance.

Throughout his career, Harry has been recognised for his leadership in driving innovation, improving operational efficiencies, and developing products that are not only technologically advanced but also cost-effective and sustainable. His commitment to continuous improvement and his collaborative approach have been key drivers in his success across various roles in the industry.

At LiuGong, Harry continues to leverage his extensive industry experience to advance the company’s growth in Europe, ensuring that LiuGong's product offerings remain at the forefront of the heavy machinery market. His work plays a crucial role in LiuGong’s mission to deliver reliable, high-performance equipment that meets the evolving demands of the construction and industrial sectors.

Connor has always been interested in sciences. He studied physics, chemistry and maths at A-Levels to further his knowledge and gain more understanding of what it is he enjoys about these areas. He was still unsure about what he wanted to do with further education and found an apprenticeship was a great opportunity to learn and work.

Doing an apprenticeship is providing him with invaluable practical experience to develop his learning and skillset much quicker than having only theoretical experience. He works with many different ceramic materials from powder preparation to analysis tests, contributing to many sectors such as aerospace to healthcare. He is currently focused on the earlier stages of ceramic processing like the material preparation and forming of parts using novel technologies like robocasting.

Learning from field experts and knowing there is lots of room for growth of both his personal skills and the ceramic industry is inspiring.

Ethan is a degree apprentice at Lucideon, working in the AMRICC centre, which holds the advanced ceramics pilot plant for the UK.

Beforehand, he studied electrical and mechanical engineering in college, which gave his a strong foundation for one of his current roles, as a furnace operator. He's passionate about understanding the science behind everything, which is why he chose to pursue a materials science apprenticeship.

At Lucideon, he gets to work on exciting projects like developing advanced armour materials, ceramic composite materials, and scaling up flash sintering processes. This experience has helped him become a more confident person inside and outside of work, even presenting on the work Lucideon is doing in areas such as lunar exploration.

Victoria has always had a passion for people development, leading learning and development in many organisation and freelance. She has experience working within the Department for Education and has focused on advancing people’s careers through development of skills, knowledge and behaviours. Working from entry level to the highest executives.

Victoria loves learning whilst ‘on the job’ - she didn’t go straight to university from college, she went straight into work and took qualifications and academic study on alongside. She never stops learning, having lead HR teams she took a real interest in the psychology of human behaviour so took herself back to university for this.

Within Lucideon she leads learning and development across their UK and US sites.

She's particularly passionate about finding local talent to enter into a career within advanced ceramics – and then to work with them during their career to support their development. The company slogan is is ‘Stay Local, Go Far.’

Victoria’s Qualifications
Masters of Applied Positive Psychology
Master of Psychological Science
Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Development

Holly Broadhurst is the Senior Early Career Scheme Leader at JCB responsible for Early Career Talent across the UK.

The role of a Senior Early Career Scheme Leader is to lead the attraction, selection, development, and retention of the best talent that will enable JCB to be an employer of choice, driving business performance and ensuring there is talent pipeline for the future requirements of JCB.

Holly started her journey at JCB back in 2012 as an Engineering Degree Apprentice completing her degree in Mechanical engineering, through her time at JCB she has held roles in Engineering and most recently in HR.

Max Jeffery graduated from Loughborough University in 1992 with a degree in mechanical engineering. Having been sponsored through his degree by JCB, Max joined the company full time as a Design Engineer on graduating from university.

Max has held a number of engineering positions across the UK businesses, and in 1996 was awarded Chartered Engineer status with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.

After working as part of the HR team based at the World Headquarters, Max held a series of positions in Quality, Operations, Project Management and Sales. In 2013 Max was appointed to head up JCB’s Global Excavator Programme - a role that took him to China and India.

In 2016, Max was appointed as General Manager of JCB Landpower, JCB’s tractor manufacturing business, and in 2018 was appointed Group Learning and Development Director.

Max was appointed Group HR Director in May 2022 after a two year spell as Engineering Director.

Max is married with two children.

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David Greenwood is Director for Industrial Engagement, and CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult at WMG. Previously, David established and led the Energy Directorate at WMG where he led a team of over 200 researchers and engineers. Projects spanned a number of fields, including cars, trucks, boats, off highway machinery, aircraft and motorcycles. His research spans batteries, electric motors, power electronics, and the integration and control of these for propulsion and energy applications.

David moved into academia after 20 years in industry latterly as Head of Hybrid and Electric Systems for engineering consultancy Ricardo UK Ltd. Professor Greenwood holds advisory and board positions for the Advanced Propulsion Centre, Innovate UK (Faraday Challenge and IDP), and the Faraday Institution. He is head of the Advanced Propulsion Centre's Electrical Energy Storage Spoke.

Phil originally trained in chemistry but left the lab when he realised that talking science and inspiring young people to consider STEM careers was more fun. He has delivered events in libraries, museums, community groups, schools, universities, festivals, circus tents, and even once in someone’s lounge. Phil uses his position within the University of Warwick to bring the real experts on cutting-edge technologies out of the academy and into public spaces, engaging with young and old to build trust in science and engineering. After all – if the public don’t trust the researchers and inventors who are making innovations possible, the products won’t sell, be used, or make it out of the university.

Phil believes that good engagement between universities and the communities they sit within can inspire the workforce of the future and build trust: key ingredients to building a bright, green future for everyone to live in.

Sophie Young, who works for PP Control & Automation inthe West Midlands, is on an Apprenticeship pathway that will see her attainqualifications from a HNC through to her degree.

The 21-year-old has already secured several awards,including the Ladder for the Black Country Awards, being named as one of TheManufacturer’s Top 100, and recognised as the ‘Rising Star’ at the Engineering& Manufacturing Awards (EMA).

Outside the facility, Sophie has carried on a passion forengineering to over 10 career fairs and speaking events in local schools tohelp raise the profile of engineering with young people and highlight women’shistorical role in manufacturing. Furthermore, Sophie has participated in livepanel discussions for International Women in Engineering Day and has appearedon a digital platform for the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Institute ofTechnology.

Sophie is hoping that her own personal journey can act as aninspiration for hundreds of young girls and women looking to carve out apossible role in manufacturing.

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Modellingthe content of his talk this evening, Alex Zarifeh has ever-evolved his rolesin the world of education over the past 25 years. Alex has taught two differentA Level subjects and has held Director of Sixth form, Director of Enrichmentand Director of Careers roles and is presently, Trust lead for Careers andFutures Readiness at the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership in the WestMidlands.

Alex has contributed to talks on AI’s evolving impacts upon the worldof work at the University of Birmingham, Professor Deirdre Hughes’, ‘AI inAction’ webinar series, MAT Strategic Forum, the Careers Development Institute(CDI) and the Complete Careers Conference.

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IqraHamid is a Senior Powertrain Design Engineer at Triumph Motorcycles, where she plays a pivotal role in engine design and development for race programs and road bikes.

Iqra graduated from the University of Warwick with a Master of Engineering (MEng) degree in Mechanical Engineering. During her time atUniversity, she was integral in shaping the Formula Student team, WarwickRacing, and led development of their first electric race car.

Since joining Triumph, Iqra has played a key part in advancing engine performance.Her efforts have contributed to Triumph’s success in both competitive racing and road bikes. One of her standout achievements is the development of a high-performance engine for the Moto2^TM championship, which has been widely acclaimed for its exceptional record-breaking performance and durability.

Beyond her engineering role, Iqra is a passionate advocate for STEM. She leadsTriumph’s initiatives to inspire future Engineers, encouraging young people,especially women, to pursue careers in Engineering.

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Yan is the Director ofEngineering at Brompton Bicycles, the UK’s biggest bike manufacturer and maker of the world’s best folding bikes, where he is responsible for a team of 40 people that cover mechanical and electronic systems. In addition to his core role, he is part of the company’s executive committee, responsible for overall business strategy.

He has an undergraduate master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Birmingham and a postgraduate master’s degree in automotive technology management from Cranfield University.

Prior to joining Brompton Bicycles, Yan spent most of his career in the automotive sector working forAston Martin, Dyson, and Bugatti Rimac (Verne). He led the structures team that created the DB11 and was part of a small concept team developing the DBX SUV.At Dyson he was responsible for product safety and autonomous driving and set a team up from scratch to do these jobs.

When not at work Yan likes tospend time with his family, play musical instruments and run.

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Whenever asked, I like to describe myself as a creator as myskillsets and interests are not exclusive to my 9-5, however my current job title is as Tooling and Fixtures Design Engineer @ Jaguar Land Rover- intranslation I design tools and equipment that factory operators and robots willuse to make our products. But how did I get here? I studied Design Engineering@ Bournemouth University after “underachieving” at A level and going through the clearing process.

I was very lucky in that from around seven years old, I wasalways sure I was going to make a living working in one way or another with cars, but I had to dig deeper and more introspectively to decide what to studyat university. The answer was clear-fundamentally, I like to make things! WhenI was researching what courses to apply for at university, my connection with art, design and the automotive industry helped me select Design Engineering, which I felt best encompassed the skills/subjects I was proficient or had a serious interest in.

Before higher education I attended a boarding school in WestSussex called Christ’s Hospital – a place that contributed greatly to mypersonal development and gave me opportunities to dream big!

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Dr Benjamin Silverstone holds an MSc inManagement and a PhD in Engineering as well as a professional teaching qualification. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Ben has worked in education for almost 20years and has held various teaching and management positions in Colleges andUniversities.

At present Ben is an Associate Professor and is Head of SkillsPolicy and Strategy and WMG. His role places him as a thought leader in the space of future skills and he is regularly engaged with government bodies in establishing the evolution of skills in the UK.

Ben is a founder of, the National Electrification Skills Framework which is a blueprint for skills engagement and adoption across a range of sectors. In addition to his leadership roles. Ben is a widely published author on a number of education and technology topics. Early in his career Ben spent a total of 15-years with the Royal Navy and HM Coastguard earning several commendations.

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Alexia is an Asset Lifecycle Engineer Project Lead working at Rolls-Royce Plc in the Submarine Delivery Enterprise. Before this she was a Deployed Lifecycle Engineer working on the TP400 engine which powers the Airbus A400M. She is currently doing the Through-life Engineering Services Specialist Masters Degree Apprenticeship at Cranfield University. Alexia joined Rolls-Royce in 2018 as an Engineering Degree Apprentice doing a BEng in Aerospace Engineering at the University of the West of England, finishing in September 2022 having achieved a First-Class honours.

She has led projects within the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of the TP400 engine section to eliminate inspection capability gaps and reduce turn-around times of engines.

Alexia is the current chair of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) Apprentice Panel, she is the Apprentice Representative in the UCAS Apprenticeship Stakeholder group, she is on the IMechE Bath and Bristol Young Members Panel as well as being the Apprentice Representative on the IET Young Members Panel.

During the last year she has contributed over 200 hours to promoting STEM to the younger generation through Air Shows, Careers Fairs, Conferences and in schools. She is passionate about encouraging more women to go into engineering especially via an apprenticeship.

Across her two apprenticeships she has been awarded 11 national and regional awards with more to come.

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Tom Marsh is a seasoned human factors professional with over 20 years of experience across diverse industries. He has played a pivotal role in the design and development of products, infrastructure, and services globally, ensuring a user-centric approach in every project. Tom’s expertise lies in collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to integrate end-user considerations throughout the design process. Currently, he leads a dedicated team of industrial design and human factors specialists at Renishaw, supporting the creation of innovative products, materials, and therapies that aim to impact billions of lives.