Simon FitzGerald is a Fifth Year Degree Apprentice in Electrical Engineering. Originally from an IT background, Simon is now an experienced member of our electrical team, and is working towards a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Warwick.
“For the past couple of years I have delivered the Interior Sensing Platform (ISP), ensuring high quality software delivery from suppliers, as well as making sure we have a robust plan to resolve technical issues. I planned the scope and delivery of upcoming software releases, analysing changes in requirements, resolving technical issues and tracking actions at a project level.”
“After leaving college I completed an IT apprenticeship and worked as an IT engineer for a few years. This served me well as it offered further learning opportunities and the prospect of real work with earning potential. Upon completing my IT apprenticeship, I soon felt I was lacking a challenge at work and began looking at future prospects including a new job role, university and higher apprenticeships.”
“The Jaguar Land Rover programme was absolutely the best option for me. I was excited to learn new skills that would be relevant to my career in engineering, whilst being challenged and rewarded for my efforts every day. Back then there wasn’t such a wide range of apprenticeships to choose from, so it’s been great to see the growth in popularity over the last five years.”
“What advice would I give to my younger self? ‘Go for it!’ In my experience, you will be rewarded for being pro-active in seeking out new opportunities and asking challenging questions both inside and outside the organisation. Initially I was more reluctant to speak up, particularly when dealing with suppliers. It was a daunting prospect to challenge engineers far more experienced than myself on what they were delivering. I was cautious about being seen as inexperienced, but the culture here really rewards that technical curiosity and drive. My professionalism and determination to improve our products has been met with incredible support and as a result I have achieved more than I ever thought possible.”
“What I love most about Jaguar Land Rover is the challenges that I face daily in this organisation. Every day is different, enabling me to develop and hone new skills in constructive and valuable ways.”
Simon is on the Degree Apprentice programme. To find out more about the Advanced, Higher and Degree Apprentice programmes we currently offer at Jaguar Land Rover, check out our careers website.
