YOUR FULL NAME: Claudia Sidderley
ROLE TITLE: Electro-mechanical engineering degree apprentice
ARE YOU A GRADUATE OR APPRENTICE? Apprentice
ROLE OVERVIEW: I work in the Hardware team and engage in electrical
engineering activities, predominantly things such as circuit design and test
equipment. I am also currently engaging with systems engineering in a
‘secondment’, working on requirements management. I am also an active member in
the early careers committee, taking on my new role of ‘Social Impact
Representative’ for Thales Cheadle.
What did you do before Thales? How did you find out about us? How long have
you been with us? Have you transitioned roles or progressed since joining us
yet?
Before Thales I completed a year at the University of Leeds, studying Chemical
Engineering, while running my own tutoring enterprise for GCSE maths, physics,
chemistry and biology. I found out about Thales through an apprenticeship
advertisement website and have been here for 14 months now. In terms of
progression, as I said I am working through a secondment with systems
engineering to help me get a greater perspective on the engineering lifecycle
as a whole.
Why is your current role important? How do you add benefit to your team?
I think being the only female engineer in my team plays an important role.
I am a big advocate for breaking the stereotype of what your ‘typical engineer’
looks and acts like. I’d love to encourage further females to get involved with
engineering in future and help to break this stereotype as a whole. Imposter
syndrome is a huge problem within the engineering environment and this is
something I am passionate about working towards reducing this as much as
possible.
VOLUNTEERING STORY
Have you volunteered yet? What did you do? What did you gain or enjoy from
volunteering
As the social impact representative for my Thales site, I engage with plenty of
volunteering activities with Thales. I tutor students from disadvantaged
backgrounds once per week online to help them prepare for their SATs
mathematics exam. I have also recently set up a volunteering day at a charity
local to the Thales Cheadle site for a charity called ‘Millie’s Trust’. This
charity helps provide affordable first aid and mental health training courses.
The volunteering event involves painting their new office and I hope to get
around 10 colleagues involved with this.
Additionally, I am a member of the ‘Charity Champions’. We help advertise
different charity events throughout the site and I am also involved with the
Thales Community Investment Fund, which choose 5 charities to donate a pot of
money to after an application and vote. Finally, I am currently preparing for a
‘social media takeover day’ to advertise Thales apprenticeships through a
company called ‘Not Going to Uni’. This will involve me creating content for
their social media page and showing my ‘day in the life as a Thales
apprentice’.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT WORKING AT THALES?
I love that everyday can be completely different and there are so many
opportunities available to get involved with if you fancy it. Networking is
made easy with how large and varied the Thales community is.
