Student at Strode College in Street accepted for Higher Apprenticeship Degree at Leonardo

One of the A-level students at Strode College in Street, Vito Di Giovanni, has been successful in gaining a "conditional offer of position" for a place on the competitive five-year Higher Apprenticeship (Degree) scheme at Leonardo in Yeovil.

Leonardo is an aerospace engineering company, which employs a workforce of 3,000 on site. Vito responded to an advert for a position on the Rotorcraft Engineering Degree Apprenticeship, which is a five-year course up to a Level 6 Engineering degree.

Trainees on the Rotorcraft Engineering Degree will have the opportunity to be involved in the design and development of current and new aircraft within the engineering function at Leonardo.

Trainees will be able to work in areas such as: avionics, structural engineering, rotor design, structural mechanical test and evaluation, and many more.

Leonardo is rated outstanding by Ofsted for its apprenticeship, graduate and wider training programmes and admits 50 apprenticeships a year to its Yeovil site.

Apprentices are given opportunities to participate in the company's wide range of local community activities, including STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) outreach to local schools for initiatives such as the Royal Aeronautical Society's Cool Aeronautics Challenge, which aims to introduce ambitious engineers to a new world of aerospace technology.

Vito studied A-level physics, maths and graphics at Strode, had a keen interest in engineering and wanted to pursue a career in this field.

He applied for the apprenticeship last December and was given the conditional offer after completing a competitive selection process.

Vito said he saw this as an incredible opportunity, and an apprenticeship was also his preferred route to gaining a degree as opposed to going to university.

Vito successfully passed a number of application stages and online maths tests before being selected for a final interview, which had to be conducted via online video call due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He was later told the good news that he had been successful for the conditional offer of employment, and that his apprenticeship would start on August 26.

Vito said: "I am really excited and eager to start my apprenticeship with Leonardo.

"I'm fully aware of what an amazing opportunity this is and will be applying 100 per cent of my efforts towards becoming a top flight engineer."

Gill Deamer, subject leader for A-level physics at Strode College, said: "I have a feeling that Vito will do very well on the apprenticeship scheme at Leonardo.

"While studying A-level physics at Strode he demonstrated just the right combination of intelligence, common sense and pleasant personality to thrive in an industrial setting – which Leonardo obviously recognised in giving him a place.

"I am so incredibly proud of how hard he has worked this year and am sure he will have a very bright future."