Last week, Stirling Dynamics was very proud to award certificates of completion to the four graduate engineers on our new Loads and Aeroelastics graduate scheme. Launched in January 2022, the scheme was devised to equip our new starters with the essential understanding of the technical methodologies and toolsets needed to deliver our services, and the know-how required to manage projects and meet our quality assurance processes.
As Aerospace Technical Services Business Manager, Henry Hackford explains:
The Loads and Aeroelastics Graduate scheme has been a great opportunity for some of the Senior Engineers in the team to formalise their knowledge and experience into training materials. The scheme has worked to bridge the gap between University and industry for the Graduates and has resulted in a team that have hit the ground running on real life customer projects! Personal project work also provided development of in-house tools, resulting in a programme that not only provides Stirling Dynamics with long term resilience going forward, but gives the Graduates support into the workplace from University.
The Loads and Aeroelastics course, designed by technical manager Evelyn Copper, featured a mixture of teaching and project-based tasks. In total, 144 hours was devoted to weekly 4-hour workshop lectures led by Stirling’s experienced engineers tackling numerous topics including vector mathematics, aeroelastics stability and landing gear loads analysis. In addition, 350 hours was allocated to project work supported by project managers, senior engineers, and the business unit manager acting as their project client. Following the completion of the formal training programme, the culmination of the course saw the graduate engineers supporting a time-critical, client-facing task.
As Loads and Aeroelastics Engineer, Bart Sharp, reflects:
The Loads and Aeroelastics graduate scheme has been a great experience, giving me an opportunity to rapidly advance my skillset beyond university, work with highly experienced engineers, and gain valuable project experience. A course highlight has been benefitting from the wealth of experience across a diverse range of engineering applications. So, I’m excited to pick up greater responsibilities and work on more diverse projects in the future.
With the success of our first Loads and Aeroelastics graduate scheme we would like to extend our gratitude to Evelyn Cropper and all the supporting staff. They have delivered an excellent training programme for our new graduate engineers, whilst ensuring effective integration into the organisation during a challenging period of remote working during the Covid-19 pandemic.
For more information on Stirling Dynamics graduate opportunities, visit our careers page today!