Katie honoured by Sea Cadets after putting engineering skills to the test
The Coleg Menai student used her know-how to help ex-Navy engineers service her unit’s boats
Coleg Menai student Katie Jones was recently honoured by the Sea Cadets after putting her engineering skills into action.
Katie will study Heavy Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Level 2 from September, after completing Engineering Craft Level 1 at the Llangefni campus this year.
The 17-year-old hopes to be a marine engineer for the Royal Navy - following in the footsteps of her dad, grandfather and great grandfather, who all worked as engineers.
Katie attends Sea Cadets in her home town of Holyhead, and showed she is developing the skills she’ll need for her career when she helped three former Navy engineers service two of her unit’s boats.
As a reward, she was presented with a 1st class badge in marine engineering.
Her unexpected opportunity came shortly after she was promoted from new entry to cadet, when her commanding officer, knowing her background and skills, asked if she would be willing to help.
Katie said: “My commanding officer informed me that three ex-Naval engineers were coming down to the unit to perform maintenance on our boats. He asked if I would like to volunteer in assisting them, which I did.”
She and the engineers then worked on the boats, overhauling the starter motor, carburettor, oil filter and spark plugs on each and replacing the battery on one of the rigs.
The engineers - one of whom was a commanding officer from another unit - tested Katie with a series of questions, resulting in her being awarded the badge after she scored 98%.
Katie said: “I was thankful for the long hours I've spent in the library studying, researching and filing out my worksheets.
“Also, shout out to my course tutors Neil Hughes and Llifon Jones who have given me learning materials to practise before I start the course in September. Without them I doubt I would have had the answers for the instructor who bombarded me with questions!”
Do you want to work in the innovative world of engineering? North Wales needs engineers to fill a wide range of exciting and well-paid jobs. To learn more about Grŵp Llandrillo Menai’s courses, click here.