Apprentice Spotlight - Lavinia Stevenson

Lavinia Stevenson of Mason Pinder was awarded the Highly Commended certificate in the Polymer Apprentice of the Year Award 2020. Her attitude towards learning and her drive was felt to be very evident.

How did you get into the plastics industry?

My first experience within the plastics industry was when I started my apprenticeship with Mason and Pinder (Polypipe) at the age of 16. I had always been interested in the field as a whole and all of the aspects within it. During my first year I studied at the AMRC training centre, learning all of the basics that I would need to carry out my job role.

What was your very first role and where are you now?

My first role as an employee at Mason and Pinder was as a toolmaker apprentice, now however I have migrated towards the design side and reside within the drawing office. However it wasn’t a quick transition, as I wanted to learn each aspect of the tooling we would deal with so that I could gain a more comprehensive view overall.

What is your biggest achievement to date within your workplace?

Personally I believe that my biggest achievement to date was meeting Princess Anne, as it was a great opportunity to talk her about my apprenticeship and what it is like being a woman within an engineering environment. Without Mason and Pinder/Polypipe this experience would not have been possible.

How do you feel the apprenticeship has helped you?

I believe that my apprenticeship has helped me in a variety of ways, the main one being the fact that I have been able to learn a new skill set. Not only has this been intellectually stimulating but has also allowed me to use the skills I have acquired within my everyday work. Another way in which my apprenticeship had helped me is through the opportunities it has offered me, a prime example of this is when I got to interview candidates for the headmasters role at a new training facility as part of a student council. Taking part it this experience helped me to gain further knowledge into the different aspects within a business. In taking part in my apprenticeship I personally believe I have been able to become a more confident individual not only at work but overall. This has had a great positive impact on not only myself but in the way I interact with others.

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

In 5 years I hope to be continuing along the design pathway of which I am currently situated at Mason and Pinder, as I would love to learn as much about the topic as possible so that I can use it to better my skill set overall. I would also like to continue to gain insight into other aspects within my company by taking part in other project planning designs, as this is something I have thoroughly enjoyed.

What has been the most useful thing you have learnt along the way?

Personally I believe the most useful thing that I have learnt along the way is to have a good level of communication with others situated within your working environment, as it creates a clear and concise working environment and minimises information lost in translation. Asking others for help when needed is important as it ensures that the task you are doing is going to turn out right. Keeping notes as a part of this is important as they allow me to look back over them to refresh myself on the information needed and the techniques used to achieve this result.

What advice would you give to anyone entering the industry now?

The advice that I would give to anyone entering the engineering industry would be to look into each aspect of it so that you have a clearer view of your task and how that fits into the overall picture. This is important as it not only makes everything clearer to you but reduces the risk of mistakes occurring. Broadening your skill set also allows you to progress further as a whole as it creates a more detailed, well-rounded portfolio that can help you within the future.