Jack Hawkins – Aircraft Engineering Apprentice

‘My name is Jack Hawkins, I’m an aircraft engineering apprentice with Ryanair, based at Stansted’.

Can you give us a brief outline of what first sparked your interest in aviation?

‘Aviation has been a fascination to say the least from a very young age; my grandmother was an incredibly important figure in my life growing up and she lived just under the approach path to Duxford. I used to spend hours watching aircraft land and decided from young that aviation was the industry I wanted to work within. I became an air cadet aged 13 which really reinforced my motives and began volunteering at Bruntingthorpe working on ex RAF Blackburn Buccaneers – this was largely where my interest within aircraft maintenance was born, along with undertaking 2 weeks of work experience with the Royal Air Force at the age of 15’.

What made you apply for your apprenticeship and how you found out about it?

‘I found out about the apprenticeship scheme online – as I live somewhat locally to Stansted it was the perfect opportunity practically speaking. As a company we have a very large fleet which is constantly expanding and is one of the newest in the industry. Here at Stansted we have a great training facility and have a very busy operation; I really like to stay busy and I learn best in a busy environment so the apprenticeship scheme here at Ryanair was an ideal fit for me’.

Outline any key achievements/awards/training or events you have attended or completed

‘To date the most fulfilling event I’ve attended was WorldSkillsLive,I spent a few days promoting the industry and representing my company. It was incredibly rewarding to engage with the future generation of engineers and to try and inspire as many as I could. So far, I’ve completed a number of my license modules which can be rather difficult to study for and have made good headway into completing my necessary qualifications. I’m excited to head out to Prestwick in November and to start my time on the line working on the aircraft in the summer. We’ve undertaken a number of training weeks away from college at our hangar now which have been very interesting and diverse; learning how to carry out wheel changes, filter changes, oxygen bottle changes amongst other similar tasks. We’ve even spent a few hours each in one of the many Boeing 737-800 simulators we have here at the hangar, learning the systems and trying our hands at flying the aircraft we will be working on’.

What do you want to get out of the apprenticeship and what you final career goal is?

‘I want to achieve as much as I can and soak up as much knowledge as possible to make me the most competent engineer I can be; as we’re expanding as a company, which will eventually involve working on a number of types of aircraft, I’d like to experience as many different types as possible. The apprenticeship can be hard work, so if you’re willing to put the time in the rewards can be vast. I’d like to eventually gain my B license and type ratings which will give me more responsibility and will create even more diversity within my work; I’d also like to teach and instruct in my later years’.