A former Weymouth student is celebrating special recognition for her success as an engineering apprentice.

Kayley Manns, formerly of Weymouth College, was picked as one of two engineering apprentices at Yeovil College to be recognised for outstanding performance on their aeronautical engineering BTEC course.

The 24-year-old is undertaking an engineering apprenticeship at Leonardo Helicopters.

Kayleigh believes engineering careers can give a new generation of young women the chance to discover a realm of the sciences they may not have experienced in school.

While Kayley enjoyed science subjects at school, it was not until she saw them in action at close range during her apprenticeship at aerospace engineering company Leonardo that she truly felt inspired.

She said: “When I started my apprenticeship at Leonardo, I discovered a whole new realm of the sciences and aerospace engineering that I didn’t know existed, which schools don’t even touch on. I love the practical aspect of working hands-on with the technology. I’m also fascinated by aerospace engineering as a subject – I read about it in my spare time and it just fuels my interest further. You see the theory come alive when a helicopter takes off at close range- it really is engineering in action.”

During the UK’s recent National Apprenticeship Week, Kayley was picked as one of two engineering apprentices at Yeovil College to be recognised for outstanding performance on their aeronautical engineering BTEC course. Kayley wants to encourage more young women into engineering if they like her require a more active mix of practical and theoretical work.

Kayley took the path less travelled to embark on her engineering career, after resisting early attempts of well-meaning teachers to steer her towards academic studies.

She grew up in Stalbridge and Weymouth, attending Stalbridge Primary and Sturminster Newton High School, before studying a BTEC in Outdoor Adventure at Weymouth College that included instruction in sailing and kayaking, to allow her to pursue a career in the active environment she needed.

At the end of the BTEC, Kayley was offered a job at the college as an Apprentice Instructor for an outdoor department called Weymouth and Portland Adventure. She thoroughly enjoyed working at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy where the 2012 Olympics were held, however the sporadic seasonal nature of the work meant that she had to take other part time jobs to supplement her income.

That’s when a family member who works at Leonardo suggested she apply for the apprenticeship. The Craft Apprenticeship appealed to Kayley, as it would allow her to work in a hands-on role while applying maths and science, however she didn’t expect to hear back after applying as she knew how competitive it was. However, Kayley successfully passed the different stages of assessment and was even able to use her experiences as an outdoor instructor to strengthen her application.

Kayley said: “I was sure everyone was going to turn up with these amazing robots they’d built through STEM clubs which I’ve never attended and I had nothing like that. But I remembered I’d created this six foot tall ‘Kerplunk’ style game out of chicken wire and wood which we used as a team game, so I took in a photo of that and explained how it worked and they loved it.”

Kayley is glad that she overcame her reservations on whether she would be the right fit for an engineering career, as she has thrived in the setting and wants more young women to overcome any assumptions that they need to be a technical wizard to be eligible.

She added: “You bring your attitude and your enthusiasm and they will teach you the skills. I would say the most important qualities you need are an enthusiasm for engineering and the willingness to take charge of your own growth and development. The rest will fall into place; you just need to go for it!”

Ben Lavery, early careers manager at Leonardo in Yeovil, said: “We want to remove the stereotypes of what an engineering apprentice should be and help young women see that creativity, communication skills and a positive attitude could make them fantastic engineers of the future.”